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Sometimes our readers have the most wonderful ideas. Last week we received one from Jeanne W:

“I wonder why no one has considered demanding [Nancy] Pelosi’s texts/records of her calls and communications during January leading up to the ‘riot’ on the 6th. I fully believe she is behind it; she made it very obvious that she hated President Trump and would do anything to get rid of him and keep him from running for any office again…I want to see the TRUTH come out on what really happened that day and justice served to the guilty parties. Keep up the good work, Mike, and thanks again for keeping us informed!”

Calling for texts and call records of Pelosi and her cohorts --- I would say for all of January --- is a fabulous idea. If I were one of those being threatened with subpoenas, my response would be, “Why, Madame Speaker, I’ll be happy to submit all this information voluntarily, no subpoena needed, but under one condition. You, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler must do the same. Let’s see what YOU were talking about regarding the January 6 rally. Deal?”

Whether Democrats were working behind the scenes and even infiltrating the rally to maximize the impact of the Capitol Hill security breach is still an open question. We can’t prove it, but there’s evidence to suggest it.

“Now hold on!” Pelosi might say. “No bargaining! The commission has subpoena power, period, and you don’t, so just shut up and hand over your records.” Um, Nancy, YOU hold on. This might not be a legitimate commission at all, and if so it has no subpoena power. As superlawyer Margot Cleveland noted in her December 10 column, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows has filed a federal complaint against the Select Committee as well as the individual committee members, alleging the subpoenas are invalid, most importantly because they were not issued by a “duly authorized” commission.”

https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/10/another-lawsuit-holds-the-key-to-trumps-best-defense-against-the-jan-6-committee/

Section 2(a) of House Resolution 503, which created the commission, requires Speaker Pelosi to “appoint 13 members to the Select Committee, 5 of whom shall be appointed after consultation with the minority leader.” But Pelosi appointed only 9 members, and only 2 of these are Republicans (the worst anti-Trumpers she could find; more about them below). “None of these members was appointed from the selection of five GOP congressmen put forth by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,” Meadows’ lawsuit states. The commission was never properly constituted. (Once again, the Democrats fail to comply with their own rules.) Because of this, it says, the commission lacks authority to act under Resolution 503. Translation: NO SUBPOENAS.

Pelosi’s refusal to seat any of McCarthy’s choices shows what a political ploy this “investigation” is. “Once in focus,” Cleveland writes, “one can see there is a strong interest in preserving executive privilege, and none in pushing a partisan dog-and-pony show trial."

Recall that Meadows has been informed by the chairman of the commission, Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, that they would pursue criminal contempt charges against him. Here’s another write-up on Meadows’ lawsuit, by Joel B. Pollak for Breitbart.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/08/mark-meadows-sues-nancy-pelosi-and-every-member-of-january-6-committee-unconstitutional/

Meadows has already turned over some material to this commission, including a PowerPoint presentation that is the left’s Obsession Of The Day. They say it’s the “smoking gun” showing Trump’s inner circle was planning to take over Washington. Au contraire. Some apparently examined the idea of declaring a national emergency because they suspected the election REALLY HAD been interfered with. But, obviously, this idea went nowhere. There is no evidence Trump’s legal advisors, let alone Trump himself, even saw this, let alone might have acted on it. Where did it even come from? We don’t know.

To give you an idea of how the left is blowing this up, here’s the (blatantly slanted) report from The Guardian.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/capitol-attack-panel-obtains-powerpoint-that-set-out-plan-for-trump-to-stage-coup/ar-AARHAqE?ocid=msedgntp

Moving on...It’s been gratifying to hear from so many readers who want to send mail to the detainees. We included a link in our story of December 11 to a website that gave contact information for them. Here it is again, for the Patriot Freedom Project.

https://www.patriotfreedomproject.com/connect-with-a-1/6er

Important: We’ve heard from a few readers that when they tried to post this link on Facebook, they were blocked. Please let us know if this happens!

Finally, this from Gloria Jean B:

“Can we request Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham start talking about the injustice being done to the Jan. 6th prisoners. Maybe their names could be announced every night. We have to do more than send cards. I have been praying for these people for months. This is an example of Nazi Germany! We have to help these people now!!”

Thanks for writing, Gloria. Some at FOX News have been paying attention, especially Carlson, who produced a provocative show for FOX Nation called “Patriot Purge.”

https://teamtuckercarlson.com/news/watch-tucker-blows-the-doors-off-jan-6-narrative-with-new-doc/

You can stream it with a free trial membership to Fox Nation.

https://nation.foxnews.com/watch/a37dafe2a435b63ba8179e4b935d5b5c/

Some at FOX, notably Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg, have even left the channel over this show, saying it’s irresponsible and promotes the conspiracy theory of a “false flag” operation on Capitol Hill. Now, we can’t say definitively that the breach was or wasn’t “helped” by FBI agents infiltrating pro-Trump groups, but viciously anti-Trump Illinois “GOP” congressman Adam Kinzinger has called the show “pure evil,” which makes me think it must be pretty darn good. Wyoming anti-Trump congresswoman Liz Cheney hated it, too. Personally, I’d wear those critiques as badges of honor.

https://www.newsweek.com/pure-evil-republican-adam-kinzinger-blasts-tucker-carlson-abusing-viewers-trust-1644285

By the way, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are the two “Republican” members of Congress appointed by Nancy Pelosi to the January 6 commission. She even made Cheney the co-chair.

One thing I’d love to see FOX News report on: the difference in how the January 6 “domestic terrorists” and the REAL terrorists detained at Gitmo have been treated by the legal profession. As Allison Schuster reported in The Federalist a couple of months ago, at least 50 high-powered law firms went out of their way to defend actual Gitmo terrorists –- pro bono –- but have ignored the plight of the Americans being held without bail on charges related to January 6. We’ve learned that most of these detainees have not been allowed to see their lawyers; maybe they don’t HAVE lawyers. This piece is a must-read.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/10/26/law-firms-that-raced-to-defend-terrorists-in-gitmo-leave-j6-defendants-out-to-dry/

The January 6 commission tries to paint the events of that day as an “insurrection,” but absolutely NO ONE has been charged with insurrection. For when you have time –- and to cleanse your palate after that last story –- I’ll leave you with a transcript of the lecture given by Roger Kimball in September at Hillsdale College. It superbly summarizes not one but two hoaxes: the one about Trump-Russia “collusion” and the one about “insurrection.”

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/january-6-insurrection-hoax/

Prayer Tree - December 14

December 14, 2021

We are stronger together.  Submit your prayer request for HEALTH & HEALING or IN MEMORIAM by visiting my website here.

Our hope is that our newsletter readers and social media followers will consider these prayer requests each day.

HEALTH AND HEALING

"Healing in my back. Very painful at times. From an old injury."

"Please pray for Andrew, age 17, having two serious surgeries to remove a very large, aggressive tumor in and around sinus area. Tuesday, 12/14 first surgery and Wednesday 12/15 lengthy removal surgery. Prayers for complete healing with no complications. Also pray for his surgeon and the operating team that God’s hands may guide them. Thank you and God bless you and yours."

"Pray that Linda will stay well enough to avoid dialysis. My cancer is in remission, but the heavy chemo ruined my kidneys. I am caregiver to my mother and husband and must stay well to help them. I do not have time for more medical problems. Thank you God, for remission of cancer. I am very grateful."

"My cousin just lost her 27-yr old daughter in an auto wreck leaving a 4 1/2 yr old daughter to be raised by grandmother. Please pray for healing, strength, comfort and peace."

"Michelle, Melis, Eric, Thomas healing and to grow in Jesus."

"Debra; In need of heart operation. Wisdom for Doctors. Son James brokn leg and wrist. Need to experience the Love from Heavenly Father. Healing body mind and sol. Relationship with parensts[ Healthy]. Blessings"

"For those in the quad states who are trying to recover from tornados!"

"Fred, I have a enlarged prostate."

"Prayers for my son & family. He's straying outside his marriage. He claims his wife doesn't care. She refuses to honor her vows to him & clings to her parents (even others have seen this ). Pray for the woman that has come between them - her two young sons are mentally challenged. She needs prayer too because of her own sexual immorality. My granddaughters need prayers of protection from all of this. My Daughter needs healing of her mental illnesses. She is in assisted living due to her mental status. I was widowed last summer for the second time and since then my husband's adult children and grand children have all abandoned me. My husband and I were very happily married for almost 27 years after both being widowed. I would ask prayer that they honor their promises to see that I am cared for & taken care of. I ask that the husband of my stepdaughter be healed from what he has suffered from & be restored to health."

"My sister MaryAnn had a glioblastoma tumor removed and now she can no longer speak and is paralyzed on her right side. We need a Miracle ????????"

"My husband was brought tothe ER with stomach pain, for a CTscan. A pancreatic cyst was discovered, and since he had a low grade fever of 100, a PCR test was done. Positive. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. The CT scan & his pain were largely ignored, and his gastro dr refuses to see him for 14 days. He can't eat or sleep well. Then, I developed symptoms of either flu, cold or C*vid. Praise God for my daughter who helps me, as I am caregiver for my sister. Please pray God heals all concerned, and uses this for his glory."

"Please pray for my husband who has serious medical problems. Thank you all so much."

"My daughter has 4th stage lung cancer, cancer in her hip, she has COPD, kidney disease, diabetes, bronchial problems. Please pray for healing."

IN MEMORIAM

"My daughter Tonya,taken by Fentanyl overdose,not self inflicted.(thank you Cartel!)"

Another Bad Omen for Democrats

December 14, 2021

Yet another bad omen for the Democrats for 2022 (and a good omen for America): over the weekend, some school board elections were held in deep blue Houston, Texas. Result: Republicans flipped the two seats, one by a narrow margin, the other by nearly 54-46%.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2021/12/12/last-nights-election-in-deep-blue-houston-blasts-another-hole-in-the-democrats-2022-boat-n490252

They both ran on a platform of getting rid of liberal policies such as mask mandates and Critical Race Theory. Since it’s doubtful that that location has enough Republicans to carry an election, it suggests that even some Democrat voters think the Democrats have pushed their leftist garbage too far.

And that brings us to today’s Must-Read article, from Redstate.com. While all the attention has been on the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on abortion restrictions, another very important case has gone unnoticed. But now, like the abortion case, it’s making some liberals flip out.

https://redstate.com/streiff/2021/12/12/the-left-goes-nuts-as-the-supreme-court-seems-to-signal-that-their-monopoly-on-propagandizing-kids-is-at-an-end-n490339

In Carson v. Makin, the SCOTUS will rule on whether Maine’s ban on letting religious schools participate in a state program that subsidizes private school tuition is unconstitutional religious discrimination. Sensing that the SCOTUS will rule that it obviously is, some liberal writers are beside themselves, spewing ridiculous hyperbole that gives away their intolerance for Christians.

This is a must-read for several reasons. First, it explains this important case. Second, it quotes some jaw-dropping articles from the liberal press, revealing that they either believe their own sick, twisted misrepresentation of Christians as purveyors of hate and bigotry, or that they want us to believe they actually believe their own propaganda. And third, it methodically knocks down their points and shows how the outrageous things they’re accusing Christians and Christian schools of doing are not only not true, but they are exactly what liberals are using the public school system to do: promoting racism and racial division and attempting to indoctrinate children into their own warped value system instead of educating them.

If they were honest, or were capable of seeing beyond their own warped values, they would see that, as the article states, it would be impossible for a real Christian school to teach hatred because Christianity is based on love: loving thy neighbor, and hating the sin but loving the sinner. They’ve falsely redefined holding to Biblical values as hating people who don’t. In short, they’ve created a straw man version of Christians as drooling monsters and made it so scary that now they’re afraid of it themselves. But as a growing number of school board elections shows, even Democrat parents have started to see what toxic leftist indoctrination camps too many public schools have become.

Read it all, especially if you’re a parent, so you know what you’re dealing with. I don't know who makes a better case for sending your kid to a Christian school: the author defending Christian schools or the liberals attacking them.

Wednesday is December 15, otherwise known as Bill Of Rights Day as designated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Bill Of Rights is 230 years old and starting to feel some serious wear and tear.

Believe it or not, our nation actually takes one day out of the year to pay homage to the Bill Of Rights, at least officially. The rest of the time, those ten amendments are largely trashed, as “progressives” try to dilute it, creatively misinterpret it, find ways around it, or add to it with new rights that were not intended. Leftists see this enumeration of rights mostly as an inconvenience, the dusty relic of a bygone age, believing that they, the geniuses who are so adept at running things (into the ground), should be able to assume power at will.

We’ve often quipped that today’s elected leaders, lawyers and bureaucrats read the Constitution the way W.C. Fields used to read the Bible –- looking for loopholes. But on Wednesday, it’s time for everyone to pay respect and think about what's at stake. For more about the Bill Of Rights, here’s a helpful website.

https://nationaltoday.com/bill-rights-day/

“The Bill Of Rights incorporates the basic rights every human being should have,” it says. Well, yes. But these rights are rare and precious indeed, and I don’t need to tell you that they’re gravely endangered even within our own country.

We found some surprising information on this website. For example, did you know that not all the states ratified the Bill Of Rights right away? They had enough votes in 1791, but Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia waited until 1939 to ratify it! No explanation given.

The Bill Of Rights, which can be viewed today in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington DC, was introduced by fourth U.S. President-to-be James Madison. (He originally drafted 19 amendments, but the list was whittled down to 10.) The Anti-Federalists had been hesitating to approve the Constitution as originally written, and it was Thomas Jefferson who suggested to Madison that a Bill Of Rights was what they needed, to guarantee “what the people are entitled to against every government on earth.”

New Jersey wast the first state to ratify it, in 1789, and the country completed this process on December 15, 1791. The bill codified our most fundamental rights: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to protest, due process, and equal protection under the law. (I already know what you’re thinking --- what has happened to all of these?) We also have the right to bear arms, the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, and more. It’s important to say that the government doesn’t grant us these rights; it recognizes that they belong to us by virtue of God’s grace and natural law. The Bill Of Rights was set up to prevent the government from abridging our liberties. Little did the founders know that 230 years later, the government would morph at will into a cheesy magic act and “poof!” make those rights disappear.

To that point, Jane Hampton Cook has a timely column in American Greatness, asking the question, “Have Americans Surrendered Their Liberties on the Bill Of Rights’ 230th Anniversary?”

She notes that The Bill Of Rights’ 150th anniversary happened to fall 8 days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, bringing us into a war in two hemispheres, World War II, with no guarantee of victory. At that time, Americans could feel what an attack on liberty was, because it was sudden and literal, with bombs and guns.

FDR believed that nothing could make Americans surrender their rights. “What we face is nothing more nor less than an attempt to overthrow and to cancel the great upsurge of human liberty of which the American Bill Of Rights is the fundamental document,” he said. If they could, our enemies would once again impose “absolute authority and despotic rule.”

https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A0F99DDB671832188%40GB3NEWS-10337DF24C5528ED%402430345-10337DF26AC6A9D7%402-10337DF3B08894A1?utm_source=NBAS&referrer=https%3A//amgreatness.com/2021/12/13/have-americans-surrendered-their-liberties-on-the-bill-of-rights-230th-anniversary

Roosevelt explained that under totalitarianism, “the individual has no right by virtue of his humanity, no right to a soul, a mind, a tongue or a trade of his own or to live where he pleases,” adding that his duty is “one of obedience only to Adolf Hitler.” We see this today in societies such as China, where the CCP demands loyalty and compliance from its people –- not to mention from others even in our country who would do business there, and those in our government who would hope to maintain negotiating privileges. They’re extremely touchy and we wouldn’t want to upset them.

https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/12/state-dept-denies-cutting-taiwan-minister-video-feed-after-map-showed-country-in-different-color-than-china/

Sadly, as Cook points out, the American people have shown FDR to be wrong by allowing their most basic rights to be trampled. This has happened on a variety of fronts; Cook in her column focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consider this quote from Dr. Anthony Fauci: “There comes a time when you do have to give up what you consider your original right of making your own decision for the greater good of society.” And who decides what the right decision is for you to make for the greater good of society? Not you, goodness knows. It’s Dr. Fauci, of course.

It’s not my purpose here to get into the efficacy of vaccines and lockdowns, as –- note the irony –- I’d like to be able to make my general point about freedom without being blocked on social media. I’m vaccinated myself. We’re not talking about viruses right now unless you mean the metaphorical kind that are trying to weaken and even kill the Bill Of Rights. For that vital document to survive and mean anything, our love of freedom has to transcend other concerns.

“The rise of censorship, the rise of suppression of religious freedoms, of property rights, closing a million businesses without just compensation or due process...all of these –- and the rise of a kind of track-and-trace surveillance state has been troubling to people, both Democrats and Republicans,” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said to Tucker Carlson on FOX News recently.

He has also said this: “All of these rights that the founders of our country died for, sacrificed their properties, their livelihoods, to give us the Bill Of Rights, and all these rights over 20 months [of the pandemic] have been obliterated, taken from the American people.”

“Fear stops us from exercising critical thinking,” he said. “It allows us to believe that if we just do what we’re told, that is the only way to save our lives.”

“We’re lucky that there was a whole generation of Americans in 1776 who said it would be better to die than to not have these rights written down,” he said. “And they gave us that. They gave us the Bill Of Rights.”

Yes, but they were acting as the conduit; ultimately it was God who gave us the Bill Of Rights. Our rights have to be considered THAT SACRED. We certainly can’t let 21st Century control freaks take them away 230 years later.

Sometimes our readers have the most wonderful ideas. Last week we received one from Jeanne W:

“I wonder why no one has considered demanding [Nancy] Pelosi’s texts/records of her calls and communications during January leading up to the ‘riot’ on the 6th. I fully believe she is behind it; she made it very obvious that she hated President Trump and would do anything to get rid of him and keep him from running for any office again…I want to see the TRUTH come out on what really happened that day and justice served to the guilty parties. Keep up the good work, Mike, and thanks again for keeping us informed!”

Calling for texts and call records of Pelosi and her cohorts --- I would say for all of January --- is a fabulous idea. If I were one of those being threatened with subpoenas, my response would be, “Why, Madame Speaker, I’ll be happy to submit all this information voluntarily, no subpoena needed, but under one condition. You, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff and Jerrold Nadler must do the same. Let’s see what YOU were talking about regarding the January 6 rally. Deal?”

Whether Democrats were working behind the scenes and even infiltrating the rally to maximize the impact of the Capitol Hill security breach is still an open question. We can’t prove it, but there’s evidence to suggest it.

“Now hold on!” Pelosi might say. “No bargaining! The commission has subpoena power, period, and you don’t, so just shut up and hand over your records.” Um, Nancy, YOU hold on. This might not be a legitimate commission at all, and if so it has no subpoena power. As superlawyer Margot Cleveland noted in her December 10 column, Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows has filed a federal complaint against the Select Committee as well as the individual committee members, alleging the subpoenas are invalid, most importantly because they were not issued by a “duly authorized” commission.”

https://thefederalist.com/2021/12/10/another-lawsuit-holds-the-key-to-trumps-best-defense-against-the-jan-6-committee/

Section 2(a) of House Resolution 503, which created the commission, requires Speaker Pelosi to “appoint 13 members to the Select Committee, 5 of whom shall be appointed after consultation with the minority leader.” But Pelosi appointed only 9 members, and only 2 of these are Republicans (the worst anti-Trumpers she could find; more about them below). “None of these members was appointed from the selection of five GOP congressmen put forth by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,” Meadows’ lawsuit states. The commission was never properly constituted. (Once again, the Democrats fail to comply with their own rules.) Because of this, it says, the commission lacks authority to act under Resolution 503. Translation: NO SUBPOENAS.

Pelosi’s refusal to seat any of McCarthy’s choices shows what a political ploy this “investigation” is. “Once in focus,” Cleveland writes, “one can see there is a strong interest in preserving executive privilege, and none in pushing a partisan dog-and-pony show trial."

Recall that Meadows has been informed by the chairman of the commission, Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, that they would pursue criminal contempt charges against him. Here’s another write-up on Meadows’ lawsuit, by Joel B. Pollak for Breitbart.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/08/mark-meadows-sues-nancy-pelosi-and-every-member-of-january-6-committee-unconstitutional/

Meadows has already turned over some material to this commission, including a PowerPoint presentation that is the left’s Obsession Of The Day. They say it’s the “smoking gun” showing Trump’s inner circle was planning to take over Washington. Au contraire. Some apparently examined the idea of declaring a national emergency because they suspected the election REALLY HAD been interfered with. But, obviously, this idea went nowhere. There is no evidence Trump’s legal advisors, let alone Trump himself, even saw this, let alone might have acted on it. Where did it even come from? We don’t know.

To give you an idea of how the left is blowing this up, here’s the (blatantly slanted) report from The Guardian.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/capitol-attack-panel-obtains-powerpoint-that-set-out-plan-for-trump-to-stage-coup/ar-AARHAqE?ocid=msedgntp

Moving on...It’s been gratifying to hear from so many readers who want to send mail to the detainees. We included a link in our story of December 11 to a website that gave contact information for them. Here it is again, for the Patriot Freedom Project.

https://www.patriotfreedomproject.com/connect-with-a-1/6er

Important: We’ve heard from a few readers that when they tried to post this link on Facebook, they were blocked. Please let us know if this happens!

Finally, this from Gloria Jean B:

“Can we request Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham start talking about the injustice being done to the Jan. 6th prisoners. Maybe their names could be announced every night. We have to do more than send cards. I have been praying for these people for months. This is an example of Nazi Germany! We have to help these people now!!”

Thanks for writing, Gloria. Some at FOX News have been paying attention, especially Carlson, who produced a provocative show for FOX Nation called “Patriot Purge.”

https://teamtuckercarlson.com/news/watch-tucker-blows-the-doors-off-jan-6-narrative-with-new-doc/

You can stream it with a free trial membership to Fox Nation.

https://nation.foxnews.com/watch/a37dafe2a435b63ba8179e4b935d5b5c/

Some at FOX, notably Stephen Hayes and Jonah Goldberg, have even left the channel over this show, saying it’s irresponsible and promotes the conspiracy theory of a “false flag” operation on Capitol Hill. Now, we can’t say definitively that the breach was or wasn’t “helped” by FBI agents infiltrating pro-Trump groups, but viciously anti-Trump Illinois “GOP” congressman Adam Kinzinger has called the show “pure evil,” which makes me think it must be pretty darn good. Wyoming anti-Trump congresswoman Liz Cheney hated it, too. Personally, I’d wear those critiques as badges of honor.

https://www.newsweek.com/pure-evil-republican-adam-kinzinger-blasts-tucker-carlson-abusing-viewers-trust-1644285

By the way, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are the two “Republican” members of Congress appointed by Nancy Pelosi to the January 6 commission. She even made Cheney the co-chair.

One thing I’d love to see FOX News report on: the difference in how the January 6 “domestic terrorists” and the REAL terrorists detained at Gitmo have been treated by the legal profession. As Allison Schuster reported in The Federalist a couple of months ago, at least 50 high-powered law firms went out of their way to defend actual Gitmo terrorists –- pro bono –- but have ignored the plight of the Americans being held without bail on charges related to January 6. We’ve learned that most of these detainees have not been allowed to see their lawyers; maybe they don’t HAVE lawyers. This piece is a must-read.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/10/26/law-firms-that-raced-to-defend-terrorists-in-gitmo-leave-j6-defendants-out-to-dry/

The January 6 commission tries to paint the events of that day as an “insurrection,” but absolutely NO ONE has been charged with insurrection. For when you have time –- and to cleanse your palate after that last story –- I’ll leave you with a transcript of the lecture given by Roger Kimball in September at Hillsdale College. It superbly summarizes not one but two hoaxes: the one about Trump-Russia “collusion” and the one about “insurrection.”

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/january-6-insurrection-hoax/

This is sad

December 12, 2021

The online subscription learning service Masterclass is offering a new video in which Hillary Clinton “face(s) one of my most public defeats head-on” by reading the speech she’d planned to make if she’d won the 2016 election (which, I happily remind you, she did not.)

https://www.westernjournal.com/money-grubbing-hillary-clinton-will-read-2016-victory-speech-pay-first/

I’m not certain what this is supposed to be a Masterclass in. If Masterclass hired Hillary Clinton to teach people how to be a good loser, then their subscribers deserve a refund. They claim she’s teaching “resilience,” but that has to be a sick joke. The New York Post’s Miranda Divine suggested that it must be a Masterclass in “self-pity and delusion.”

https://www.foxnews.com/media/hillary-clinton-2016-victory-speech

Watching Hillary get choked up as she reads a victory speech for a race she lost five years ago is frankly sad. It reminds me of Dickens’ Miss Havisham from “Great Expectations,” still wearing the decaying wedding dress she put on years before, only to be left at the altar.

You know, Hillary, if you actually have something to say, you could be saying it from some other position. News flash: I also didn’t get elected President in 2016, yet I somehow manage to get up each day and continue communicating to the public through this newsletter, my podcast, my TV show and other venues. You lose, you deal with it, and life goes on. If you have such a sense of entitlement about deserving the Presidency that losing it cripples your life, then you’re the type of person who should never be President.

If Masterclass wants to have Hillary Clinton teach something useful that she actually knows, they should let her do a course on influence peddling.

https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/04/clinton-foundation-hillary-clinton-bill-clinton-decrease-donations-corruption/

According to a study by the nonpartisan Project On Government Oversight (POGO), her family charitable organization The Clinton Foundation took in nearly $250 million in donations in 2009, after she became Secretary of State. Donations remained high up through her run for President. Then donations dropped precipitously to less than $29 million in 2020. Did Hillary’s loss so demoralize donors that they lost their charitable impulses?

A counsel for POGO said, “Many people thought people were supporting the former President, but it really looks like they were cozying up to who they thought was going to be the future President — a situation that can’t be repeated.”

While I agree it can’t be repeated, I have to take exception to one part of that. Did anyone ever seriously believe all those big donors thought they were just supporting the former President?

Thursday, after nine hours of deliberations, the jury in actor Jussie Smollett’s trial returned a verdict of guilty on five out of six counts of concocting a hoax hate crime and lying to the police about it.

https://www.westernjournal.com/breaking-jussie-smollett-verdict-revealed/

The big question remaining, of course, was “Why not all six?” Smollett was acquitted on one count of felony disorderly conduct related to making a false police report, which the prosecutor couldn’t explain, but he said it wasn’t significant to the state’s case. But Smollett’s lawyer seized on that one acquittal as proof that Smollett will win on appeal. Yes, apparently, he intends to go into a higher court and try to sell this load of bad clams a second time. If his defense is as good as it was the first time around, perhaps the appeal can result in a guilty verdict on all six charges, with perjury in the first trial thrown in for good measure.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/12/09/prosecutor-trouble-for-jussie-smollett-because-of-lying-to-jury-n489265

Reaction to the trial has been interesting. Some of the big liberal celebrities and news media figures who rushed to support Smollett at first, since his lies played into their cherished false narrative of Trump supporters being violent, homophobic racists, are being awfully quiet now. His former staunch supporter, CNN’s Don Lemon, threw Jussie under the bus and branded him a liar who’s made it harder for real victims of hate crimes. Perhaps he's smarting from Smollett’s testimony that revealed he was using his contacts, Chris Cuomo-style, to let Smollett know what the cops were thinking about his claims.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10295231/Don-Lemon-throws-old-pal-Jussie-Smollett-wolves-branding-LIAR.html

Not surprisingly, the most unhinged reaction came from the Black Lives Matter group, which doubled down on its support of Smollett, claimed that we can never believe cops, and demanded the abolition of police, even as crime and murder rates are skyrocketing in cities that have defunded police departments, and where many of the victims are black.

https://thelibertydaily.com/blm-doubles-down-on-smollett-support-and-calls-to-abolish-police-as-12-major-cities-hit-all-time-high-crime-numbers/

Personally, I would find it a lot easier to believe that some cops went out for donuts at 2 a.m. on a sub-freezing Chicago night than that Jussie went out for Subway sandwiches at that time and just happened to bump into two racist Trump supporters who (A.) recognized him because they watch “Empire” and (B.) just happened to be carrying bleach and a noose. I guess they were on their way to the all-night rope laundromat.

The reason it was so easy for liberals to believe such a transparently ridiculous story is that the media have been retailing hoaxes and lies about Trump and his supporters for so long that believing the worst has become a reflex for them. Victoria Taft notes that this case now joins a list of hundreds of fake hate crimes in the past few years (from a site we’ve cited before, fakehatecrimes.org), and reminds us of a few that got plenty of hysterical media coverage, only to fizzle out when they were exposed as hoaxes:

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/victoria-taft/2021/12/09/jussie-smolletts-race-hoax-joins-a-long-list-of-other-fake-hate-crimes-here-are-8-out-of-hundreds-of-them-n1540264

I’ll give the final word to Stephen Kruiser of PJ Media, who says he’s so fed up with these race-baiting liars, he just wants them gone and for Smollett to “spend the rest of his pathetic life in prison.”

https://pjmedia.com/columns/stephen-kruiser/2021/12/10/the-morning-briefing-jussie-smollett-should-spend-the-rest-of-his-pathetic-life-in-prison-n1540466

He also revives an argument that, if you’re old enough to remember, was made when “hate crime” laws were first proposed, but it’s since become so un-PC that few dare make it: that the very concept of “hate crimes” is inherently racist, and that punishment should be based on the crime, not the victim’s race. For instance, the argument is that adding extra punishment to an assault charge because of the victim’s race implies that some races are more valuable than others, and the charge should just be assault on another human being, with the punishment neither greater nor less because of the races of the victim or perpetrator.

You can agree or disagree with the premise, but there’s no denying that creating a new category of “hate crimes” has given rise to a wave of people who seek to divide Americans and advance themselves by faking hate crimes. Kruiser’s article includes a good point: if we’re going to increase the punishment for a crime because it’s branded a “hate crime,” and that's more serious than a regular crime, shouldn’t we also double the punishment for filing false police reports to fake a hate crime?

“Squad” members Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are pushing for a form of upper class welfare known as “student loan forgiveness.” This is where people who either paid for their college degrees or didn’t get one and went to work get to pay taxes to cover the debts run up by people who got degrees they couldn’t afford. Or maybe they can afford to pay their debts, but really don’t want to. Cases in point: Tlaib and AOC.

https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2021/12/07/rashida-tlaib-made-the-case-on-the-house-floor-on-why-you-should-pay-her-student-loan-debt-no-really-n487698

Tlaib declared in Congress that she still owes over $70,000 on her nearly $200,000 in student loan debt, while AOC still has $17,000 in student loan debt.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/aoc-who-makes-175k-a-year-says-taxpayers-should-have-to-pay-off-her-17k-in-student-loan-debt/ar-AARz6PL

They think the taxpayers should have to pay this for them. For some reason, the taxpayers are already paying them $175,000 a year for their invaluable services as socialist Congress members, so maybe they should pay them back themselves.

If it's too much to expect them to spend their own money for a change, I have another suggestion: they should go to the universities that gave them their “educations” and demand refunds. That’s an idea that I think we could all get behind.

Prayer Tree - December 12

December 12, 2021

We are stronger together.  Submit your prayer request for HEALTH & HEALING or IN MEMORIAM by visiting my website here.

Our hope is that our newsletter readers and social media followers will consider these prayer requests each day.

HEALTH AND HEALING

"My sister Roxanne who’s cancer has reoccurred. She is a wonderful Christian lady who loves the Lord and is such a wonderful testimony to all those around her!"

"Pray for Joyce’s healing after serious surgery."

"My husband Bryan needs healing prayers sent to him. He has covid and his oxygen levels are very low. He is in a ICU 4. Please pray that he stays calm and gets better."

"Please pray for my daughter, Rebekah. She has developed pre-eclampsia after she delivered her baby daughter."

"My husband has Lewy Body Dementia and I want to keep him at home as long as possible. I am his sole caregiver - please pray for God’s strength, guidance, and comfort for me. I also need some respite time for myself. Many thanks"

"Please pray for healing and strength from a prostate procedure that has left me weak as a man and also pray that my fiancée's CR-1 visa will be approved in record short time and that our wedding plans materialize as planned and that God's will always be done in our lives."

"Those that live with bi polar, pray that the manage their condition and live a full and happy life free of depression and mania."

"Please pray for Henry and family as he in pediatric icu thank you."

"Daughter not allowing her father and I to see our grandchildren after her 17 year son showed up at our door asking to stay because he did not want to be exposed to Covid after his father came home from a business trip with a positive diagnosis in April. She no longer communicates with us and no longer calls us mom and dad."

"Two grandsons who are not believers .One does not believe there is a God ...............I suffer from neuropathy and would be so thankful for your prayers ..Thank You ."

"Please pray for me. My name is Emmy Purainer. I have stage 4 cancer and am fearful for my life. But I do trust in God in whom everything is possible, our living and merciful God who hears our prayers."

"My friend who is having knee surgery Dec 6. It is third surgery on the knee and my friend is concerned that it might be worse than better after third surgery. Pray for perfection surgery and perfect results."

"My sister, Linda has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of the GE Junction. She will be starting chemo. Prayers for a miracle and Prolong Life."

"MaryLou - brain bleed, Bob - prostate cancer, Tina - mantle cell lymphoma, Sue - Covid"

"My husband, retired US Navy, for his health."

IN MEMORIAM

Harry Truman was a Democratic President who famously said of his presidential desk, “The buck stops here.” Meaning that it was a President’s job to step up and not try to shift blame or responsibility to someone else.

Oh, how things have changed! For our current Administration, the buck always gets passed to the same person. Every time Biden messes up, he passes the buck to Donald Trump (no wonder he’s a billionaire!) Biden can’t even take responsibility for his own words without trying to point his finger at Trump.

Friday, in light of the conviction of actor Jussie Smollett for concocting a hoax racial attack and trying to blame it on Trump supporters, Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked if he would retract his initial comments supporting Smollett. She replied, “I think there are lessons learned perhaps for everybody who commented at the time, including former President Trump.”

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-white-house-responds-jussie-smollett-conviction-pointing-fingers-trump/

However, this was one time when Trump was actually cautious with his words. He said of the alleged attack, “I can tell you that it’s horrible. It doesn’t get worse,” but he didn’t leap to conclusions, buy into Smollett’s defamatory narrative, and imply that Trump supporters were violent racists and homophobes, the way Biden, VP Harris and so many other prominent Democrats did.

https://twitter.com/bariweiss/status/1469129111327051777

Biden is proving that unlike Truman, he is quick to leap to conclusions and accuse others before he knows the facts, but he never accepts responsibility for things that he actually did himself. Whatever it is, it’s always Trump’s fault. With Biden, the buck never arrives. And even if it did, thanks to inflation, one of Truman’s 1950 bucks would only be worth nine cents.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/surging-inflation-eroding-wage-gains-americans#&_intcmp=hp1bt5,hp1bt

Reeder: RIP Arlene Dahl

December 12, 2021

We’ve had so much news to cover recently that I haven’t had an opportunity to write about this, but I don’t want to let the passing of Arlene Dahl go unmentioned. One of the last glamorous stars of Hollywood’s big studio days, she died last week in New York at 96.

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/arlene-dahl-journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-lorenzo-lamas

Lorenzo Lamas, her son by actor Fernando Lamas, wrote on Facebook, "She was the most positive influence on my life. I will remember her laughter, her joy, her dignity as she navigated the challenges that she faced. Never an ill word about anyone crossed her lips. Her ability to forgive left me speechless at times. She truly was a force of nature…”

While she never became a top star, Arlene Dahl’s flaming red hair and stunning beauty (she started out as a model) helped land her consistent work in a number of films in the 1940s and ‘50s, including “A Southern Yankee,” “Three Little Words” (both with fellow redhead Red Skelton) and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” Here’s a nice tribute by TCM:

https://youtu.be/MbVuV6lSZSE

She later took on a number of TV guest roles, and became a regular on the soap opera, “One Life to Live” after a business setback and one of her six husbands forced her to declare bankruptcy. But acting became a sideline once she began writing a long-running syndicated beauty column in 1952. She went on to write over two dozen books. Here’s my favorite title: “Always Ask a Man: Arlene Dahl’s Key to Femininity.” You can read it with a free membership at Archive.org:

https://www.amazon.com/Always-Ask-Man-Arlene-Femininity/dp/B00005VCP2

In 1954, she started her own cosmetics and lingerie company, and went on to become an entrepreneur, business lecturer and highly-paid advertising executive. She once said she liked acting, but considered her old films an “embarrassment,” and if he didn’t like business better than acting, she’d lose her shirt.

Since you depend on me for the trivia nobody else shares: If you’d like to play a love scene opposite Arlene Dahl, just hunt up a copy of “Co-Star: The Record Acting Game,” a 1958 LP on which you can practice your acting by reading Bogart’s lines from “Casablanca” with Arlene in the Ingrid Bergman role.

https://www.discogs.com/release/5576685-Arlene-Dahl-Co-Star-The-Record-Acting-Game

Sorry I can’t find it online, but it has so many silent passages that an audio equipment channel used it to test a record cleaner, so you can hear a little of it here and appreciate her acting skills as well as the gorgeous cover photo.

https://youtu.be/pj2MbDpP-HA?t=938

This tribute was written by "Huckabee" writer Pat Reeder.

President Biden’s poll numbers continue to roll downhill faster than a marble on Mount Everest. Latest numbers:

Despite a blizzard of anti-Trump propaganda blaming him for every COVID death, Rasmussen reports that Americans now believe Biden has done a worse job of handling COVID than Trump did by a 49-39% margin.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/washington-secrets/most-say-biden-failing-covid-fight-trump-better-49-39

But the poll that’s giving Democrats more nightmares than Freddy Kruger is the new Wall Street Journal poll. This poll is more extensive and has a far larger polling sample than previous polls, and the results look even worse for the Democrats.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2021/12/07/latest-poll-numbers-spell-doom-for-democrats-and-bust-some-narratives-along-the-way-n488004

Biden’s approval rating is 41%, with disapproval at 57%. Among Independent voters, it’s a staggering 30%-66%. When asked to name the most important issue to them, voters chose immigration, the economy and inflation as the top three, and Republicans have huge leads over Democrats in which party can handle all three better. And on the 2022 Congressional generic ballot, Republicans are preferred by 44-41%. That sounds close, but generic ballot polls usually undercount Republicans, so that even a tie can mean a red wave is coming.

And if Democrats think hammering away on abortion rights is going to turn things around: only 1% of respondents chose that as their #1 issue.

This is where I have to mention that the election is still nearly a year away, things can change, don’t get complacent, keep working and volunteering and donating to take back and save America. And if I had to give any sage advice to a Democrat, it might be these two words: “Switch parties.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-mexico-lawmaker-democrat-affiliation

Biden's inflation economy

December 12, 2021

This morning, the Labor Department released new figures showing the consumer price index rose 6.8% in November from one year ago. That’s the highest inflation rise in 39 years. The previous high was 7.1% in June 1982, when Reagan was still trying to wrestle Carter-era stagflation under control.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/consumer-price-index-november-2021

Still, those reported secret meetings between the Biden White House and the lapdog media appear to be bearing rotten fruit, as the phrase “Biden Boom” briefly trended on Twitter yesterday.

https://redstate.com/streiff/2021/12/09/the-biden-white-house-propaganda-sessions-with-colluding-media-seem-to-be-working-as-biden-boom-trends-on-social-media-n489028

Believe it or not, “boom” is not the sound of this Administration imploding. The media are actually trying to convince us that the economy is booming thanks to this Administration’s brilliant leadership. It’s a jaw dropping insult to the intelligence of the American people.

To be fair, gas prices are actually a few cents lighter, which isn’t the only gaslighting going on, although Biden is having a little trouble saying so.

https://www.westernjournal.com/watch-biden-extreme-brain-malfunction-live-tv-trying-explain-gas-prices/

But getting gas prices to under $3 a gallon when they were under $2 a gallon when you took over less than 11 months ago is not something to brag about. Neither is anything else in this economy.

Go to that first link at Redstate.com to see the charts that aren’t carefully edited and cherry picked. You’ll notice that the alleged “historically fast Biden jobs creation” is nothing but businesses reopening after being forced to close due to COVID panic, and the level of employment is still nowhere near what it was before that artificially-induced crash.

The propaganda campaign doesn’t seem to be working on small business owners.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/washington-secrets/main-street-businesses-reject-biden-wont-reelect-61-39

A new Zogby poll found that among companies with $10 million or less in annual revenues, executives think things are worse under Biden rather than better by a 56-44% margin. Include their workers, and it’s the same result by 53-47%. Among those owners and executives, Biden’s reelection is opposed by 61-39%. Among executives of businesses that make over $10 million a year, Biden’s reelection is opposed by 54-46%. I have a feeling that if you filtered out Big Tech and pharmaceutical companies, that last number would look even worse.

Fortunately, the media have so destroyed their own credibility in recent years that I seriously doubt they have the brainwashing power to convince the 70% of Americans who think the economy is on the wrong track (November Fannie Mae National Housing Survey) that everything is rosy thanks to Joe, as they spend their kids’ college fund on a tank of gas and a week’s worth of groceries.

As promised, here’s a follow-up on what to do in response to the egregious civil rights violations of the January 6 political prisoners.

Louis Gohmert of Texas, who along with fellow member of Congress Marjorie Taylor Greene finally got to see the facility where J6 prisoners are confined, has a fine opinion piece on his website, reprinted from The Epoch Times. It dates from November 4, the day they and their congressional staffs took “the tour” and spent an hour speaking personally with these prisoners.

https://gohmert.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=399970

This piece shames the government for ignoring their repeated requests and “refusing to allow oversight of their actions, which gives every appearance of a cover-up of wrongdoing.”

“Should ideology and abuse of power continue to drive this administration’s actions,” it continues, “the Rule of Law will cease to exist...By its [lack of transparency], the Biden administration is shredding the foundations of our legal system and the rights of the people’s representatives to protect them from government abuse.”

Gohmert agrees that at least some of the people being treated this way are essentially political prisoners. And if we allow it and let this nation finish its transformation into a banana republic, there will be nowhere else for liberty-loving Americans to turn.

According to an opinion piece in the Washington Times by criminal prosecutor and former U.S. Congressman Robert L. Livingston, almost 700 people in and near the Capitol that day were arrested and charged. Eventually, most of these were released or “had their cases disposed of in varying ways.” (I would add that some of them, even though they’re no longer behind bars, are currently under house arrest and have yet to go to court.) Reps. Greene and Gohmert met with about 40 who are still languishing in a dismal Washington DC corrections facility.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/nov/10/jan-6th-detainees-must-receive-due-process/

Livingston is “shocked” to hear of “prospective defendants who have been arrested and deprived of their livelihoods; confined in solitary confinement with little or no reasonable access to the outside world, their families or adequate legal counsel; and denied formal charges levied against them without bail and in contravention to the right to a speedy trial.” He said that he spoke with an employee at the federal Public Defender’s Office and learned “that they were not representing any of these folks.”

So-called “civil rights defenders” such as the ACLU are nowhere to be found. “Most of these people are at worst guilty of trespass or destruction of government property,” Livingston said. But for crying out loud, charge them, arraign them, and bring them to trial with counsel of their choice.”

“This atrocity must stop, and it must stop soon.”

We also came across a story from October 28 that reprints a letter from one of the detainees, Nathaniel DeGrave, who found himself in prison after apparently walking into the Capitol Building through open doors. His plea for help paints an especially bleak picture of the lives of these political prisoners in what he calls “DC’s Gitmo.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/10/gut-wrenching-plea-help-january-6th-detainees-tell-letter-american-public-dc-gitmo-please-help-innocent-man/

To stay informed with the best reporting on January 6 --- particularly the emerging evidence suggesting the FBI was making sure there WAS an “insurrection” –- we recommend keeping up with the stories in National File. Here’s the latest.

https://nationalfile.com/exclusive-feds-withheld-exculpatory-evidence-charging-accused-1-6-protesters/

The current administration would like us to forget about these people, except as a cautionary tale of what can happen to those who step out of line. But we won’t.

We can send cards and letters to the detainees, letting them know they’re not forgotten, especially over the Christmas season when they'll be separated from their families (again). We can donate to defense funds and “adopt” families. We can send messages to our legislators, especially the ones who’ve already stepped up, including Greene, Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, and Bob Good. Most importantly, as we move into the 2022 campaign season and look ahead to 2024, we can actively campaign to defeat Democrats and support those who want to clean house at the DOJ. This clean-out MUST happen, as you'll see if you go to the FBI website and discover there's nothing about, say, Antifa, but an obsession with January 6:

https://www.fbi.gov

Be concerned about down-ballot races, too, and work to defeat those local candidates who want to defund police, release violent prisoners without bail, and weaponize law enforcement against so-called "domestic terrorists" (Trump supporters). Some of them are funded by groups such as Justice Democrats (who brought us AOC) and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.

The Capitol Building should have been secure that day, with clearly-set boundaries that protesters should have respected. But, ultimately, it is the current administration and the Department of “Justice” that is responsible for the travesty of justice we see today. Under President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, we have as disgustingly politicized a DOJ as there has ever been. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes it three of a kind. This coming year, we all have to work harder than we ever have to elect people who respect a uniform standard of justice, even for political adversaries.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the January 6 rally and breach of the Capitol Building, it’s time to take an unsparing look at what our “justice” system has become.

I know you share my deep concern that our judicial system increasingly –- and quite openly –- operates like that of a banana republic. The country is changing before our eyes. Yesterday, we looked at the use of “lawfare” to sway election outcomes, with Harvard Law School graduating an army of leftist attorneys specializing in how to manipulate election law. Today, let’s examine how leftist attorneys are weaponizing law enforcement and the courts against their political enemies. Case in point: the shocking violations of the civil rights of Trump supporters who were at the Capitol on January 6. Most say they can’t see their lawyers at all.

I just received this letter from reader Marlene:

“PLEASE tell your readers how to make a difference in how the J6 prisoners are being treated. How can we get this showcased in our communities?

“I live in NY and I will find out who to start writing, and start a petition demanding justice and fairness in their treatment. What else might be successful? This is unacceptable and I can only believe not enough people know about this. Is it legal to protest at the site they are being held? I will pray first, because I know that is where any success is going to come from, but if you can help with any direction I would appreciate it.”

Thanks to Marlene for writing. Yes, this is completely unacceptable and, yes, there are things we can and must do. Two Republican members of Congress, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert are leading the way on this issue with a new report called “UNUSUALLY CRUEL: An eyewitness report from inside the DC jail.” On November 4, the two legislators, along with congressional staff members, were finally allowed to tour two jail facilities –- the Central Detention Facility (CDF) and, especially, the Central Treatment Facility (CTF), which houses the J6 detainees –-after two unsuccessful attempts by them and also by Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/kevindowneyjr/2021/12/07/reps-greene-and-gohmert-finally-met-the-j6-political-prisoners-what-they-saw-isnt-pretty-n1539714

Amazingly, it took a congressional letter and a confrontation with the DC mayor’s office and the Department of Corrections staff to get them in. The letter said they have “the right, prerogative, and duty as Members of Congress to inquire and inspect.” Even then, they say, after two hours of being shown around, they still hadn’t seen any of the J6 political prisoners (let’s call them what they are). It took an 11-minute “heated confrontation,” Greene says in her report, to make that happen. They finally got to meet with the approximately 40 prisoners, in an area of the prison that looked to them “much older” and not updated like the rest of the prison. According to one inmate, it had previously been used as a psychiatric ward.

Some prisoners cried and were “visibly shaken,” Green says. “The physical conditions in which they are held could only be described as inhumane.” The detainees claim they haven’t been able to see their lawyers and family members. Those who decline vaccination are not allowed to get haircuts –- and they’ve been there so long, they’re probably starting to look like someone else who was locked in a tower: Rapunzel. Some –- notably a 71-year-old detainee (!) named Lonnie Leroy Coffman, who has a very serious-looking injury to his arm –- need medical attention. (Other prisoners say Coffman really needs to be released.)

They hold their own religious services where they are because they are not allowed to attend any. Each day, they do their own salute to the flag and sing the National Anthem.

Greene was told of these prisoners being treated much more harshly than the others, with some reports of beatings. Other prisoners in the facility have access to flat-screen TVs, medical care, and reading material, though Greene describes this in the report as emphasizing “the supposed cruelty and racial prejudice of the U.S. prison system,” also promoting Nation of Islam and Critical Race Theory. One book prisoners were about to read was “THE NEW JIM CROW: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.” At the same time, one hallway was lined with posters encouraging the freshly-indoctrinated inmates to register to vote. This in itself might be a topic for another day.

So, the J6 political prisoners have been in this place for going on a year, haven’t had their day in court, don’t see their families, don’t see their lawyers, are singled out for bad treatment and don’t even have access to reading material (not that they’d want THAT reading material)? The conclusion of Greene’s report includes this statement: “The congressional visit to the DC jail on November 4 unquestionably proved that there is a twotrack justice system in the United States. This two-tiered system is not based on race, violence or conviction of crime, but politics.”

Greene and Gohmert got to visit with the prisoners for about an hour. Before leaving, Greene prayed with them as a group and told them, “We’ve heard terrible things and I want you to know that Congressman Gohmert and I have basically refused to back down on the issue.” They said they had not lost hope. As the delegation was escorted out, they chanted, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” and then, “LET’S GO BRANDON!”

“The severe treatment of these inmates within the facility cannot be overstated,” the report says. None of these people have had trials or been found guilty of anything. Video shows that some who came into the Capitol that day were waved in by security. Some never even entered at all; they just happened to cross some “invisible line” outside.

Here’s a link to a pdf of the full report. The part specifically covering their visit with the J6 detainees –- including a transcript of the “heated conversation” preceding it –- starts on page 12 and is a must-read.

https://greene.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/greene.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Unusually%20Cruel%20An%20Eyewitness%20Report%20From%20The%20DC%20Jail.pdf

Sharon Caldwell, wife of one of the detainees who at least is now on house arrest, wrote of the plight of those in prison and offered some specific ways to help.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2021/12/how_to_help_j6_defendants.html

“There are many ways you can help a J6er,” she writes. “You may donate to individual defendants, adopt a family in need this holiday season, and get information on how to send cards and letters to those incarcerated or under house arrest. Prayers, cards and letters provide tremendous joy, hope and strength to those affected. Here’s how to get mail to them.

https://www.patriotfreedomproject.com/connect-with-a-1/6er

More this weekend on what we can do to help our American political prisoners and bring their situation to light.

LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW, I READ THEM!

The recent Supreme Court arguments on abortion that could repeal or roll back Roe v. Wade have reignited calls among Congressional Democrats for “court reform” (i.e., expanding the SCOTUS and packing it with liberals so they’ll always get their way.) Many are railing about how unfair it is that there’s now a conservative majority on the court, and that this injustice must be rectified. As Byron York explains, “The thinking among those Democrats is that if the court does something they oppose, it has become ‘partisan.’ Now, they need to intervene to make it less ‘partisan.’”

https://townhall.com/columnists/byronyork/2021/12/08/after-court-argument-seething-frustration-on-the-left-n2600282?utm_campaign=rightrailsticky1

You see, they define other people’s political viewpoints as “partisan” and their own as “objectively correct.” But even as the calls for court packing mount, the justification for it remains elusive.

When President Biden appointed a commission to study Supreme Court reform, many “progressives” assumed that its report would justify their lust for unlimited power by reading, “Pack it tighter than a carry-on bag!” Well, the report is out, and sadly for them, it doesn’t tell us anything other than what anyone with half a brain already knew.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2021/12/08/supreme-court-commission-n2600306

The commission said the disagreement among its members reflects that of the public: supporters of expanding the Court claim it would protect democracy, while opponents say it would harm the independence of the judiciary branch and make it subject to shifting political trends.

They wrote that any just statutory changes would require serious deliberation by Congress (are they even capable of that these days?) during which “we hope that Congress would keep in mind the central structural values of our Constitution" (good luck with that!), "particularly the principle of judicial independence, and consider what future Congresses, armed with the same constitutional powers, might someday attempt. Indeed, in recent years, we have seen democratic governments 'regress' or 'backslide' with respect to judicial independence. This has come about through electoral majorities using their power to favor the political agendas of those governments."

Unfortunately, to the people pushing court packing, that’s not a bug, it’s a feature. But it is a good sign that Americans still have enough common sense to recognize a naked, unconstitutional power grab when they see one, even people who were selected in hopes that they would rubber stamp it for approval.

Ironically, the Democrats made an error by not packing their court-packing commission with partisan liberals who would give them what they want, regardless of the Constitution or the consequences. They should've packed the court commission like they did the January 6th commission.

Prayer Tree - December 9

December 9, 2021

We are stronger together.  Submit your prayer request for HEALTH & HEALING or IN MEMORIAM by visiting my website here.

Our hope is that our newsletter readers and social media followers will consider these prayer requests each day.

HEALTH AND HEALING

"Please pray for my sister-in-law who has cancer. And for myself and my daughters, we have so many health issue."

"My husband, son, daughter, son in-law and his dad all have Covid. So far mild symptoms. I pray my two year old grandkids, and other family members do not get sick. One year ago I had Covid and recovered."

"My daughter. Going blind in left eye from corneal dystrophy. Mother of three and my baby girl. Thank you."

"My son and daughter for health and healing. Thank you. All praise, glory, love and thanks to God. Amen."

"Laury lynn: My health hasn’t been good, I’m diabetic and I’ve had some falls and was in a car accident and just would appreciate some prayers for better health and positivity! In my life! Thank you."

"Jessica Harkins was admitted to hospital about 5-6 days ago, covid. Wednesday I got word she’s been put in a medical induced coma. Please pray for her and also her (triplet) sister who has covid too."

"Please pray for the safety of our young, adult daughter who ran away from home with strangers she met online. Thank you in advance."

"Michael Mallinson, Stomach troubles."

"Husband recovering from ear surgery. Praying the growth will not return and there will be no complications during healing."

"Husband recovering from ear surgery. Praying the growth will not return and there will be no complications during healing."

"Have AFib 5 yrs, I'm 70. Now wearing out. Also need relief from apnea. I believe in healing!"

"Please heal my son Alex S. from pancreatitis."

IN MEMORIAM

"Please pray for our family as we laid my precious daddy to rest today but most important my mom who lost her spouse of 57 years."

Not long ago, I said that when it comes to elections going forward, our lawyers have to be better than their lawyers.

Mark Hemingway at RealClearInvestigations has a similar warning in a new article, titled “Harvard’s ‘Lawfare’ Programs are an Omen of Elections Not Decided at Polls --- but in Court.” Check out the poster boy at the top of his screen; it’s Marc Elias. Elias is probably the man most responsible for the fact that Joe Biden is sitting in the Oval Office right now thinking about ice cream.

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/11/30/harvards_lawfare_programs_are_an_omen_of_elections_decided_not_at_polls_-_but_in_court_804560.html

How dare President Trump challenge the results of the 2020 election! Why, that’s tantamount to treason, the argument goes. Even encouraging states to conduct forensic audits is a threat to “our democracy,” as it implies problems and destroys trust in the system.

Never mind that the system --- in its current, essentially un-auditable state, does not deserve our trust.

And never mind that in the elections of 2000, 2004 and 2016, Democrats formally challenged the results of presidential elections that had been won by Republicans, in another classic case of “our rules for you, no rules for us.” As Hemingway points out, it was that series of challenges by the Democrats that led to the development of the network of leftist election litigators we have today. Of course, we first think of the Hillary- and DNC-connected firm Perkins Coie and attorneys Marc Elias and Michael Sussmann (currently under indictment), but according to former DOJ attorney J. Christian Adams, there were about 30 groups that jumped into action after the pandemic hit to make fast changes in state election laws, mostly to expand mail-in voting while removing any safeguards. The percentage of Americans who voted by mail doubled between the 2016 and 2020 elections.

After Trump lost in 2020 and some conservative states started re-tightening their rules, these armies of “progressive” lawyers got busy again, filing challenges to keep them from changing back.

So, do voters get to decide who wins, or do courts get to filter their voices and decide for them? Increasingly, we see the strategy of “lawfare.” So it might come as no surprise that Harvard Law School is getting in on this big-time, preparing attorneys for the day when election outcomes are routinely decided in court. Adams calls this next phase “Let’s set up an elite training academy.”

In April, Harvard Law started the Election Law Clinic, which gives students credit for working on campaigns (why am I reminded of the students at Georgia Tech who helped create the fake Alfa Bank story?), as well as “hands-on litigation and advocacy work across a range of election law areas, with an initial focus on redistricting and voter-suppression cases.” It doesn’t sound as though they’ll be working on any conservative campaigns, but maybe they can still get Stacey Abrams declared the rightful governor of Georgia.

The director, Ruth Greenwood, sees many students wanting to go into election law and wants them to be able to “hit the ground running as election lawyers from day one.” Law professor Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit sees this flood of new election specialists as creating more demand for that kind of expertise and litigation. In other words, it’s going to get much worse. Election days used to be something to celebrate as part of being American, but they’re increasingly something to dread.

In recent months, we’ve done some deep dives into the websites of some of these new groups that showed how amazingly organized and incestuous they are, and Harvard’s Election Law Clinic is part of that. Greenwood is a former fellow of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute and has also worked at the Campaign Legal Center.

https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/campaign-legal-center/

As you can see, the CLC is funded in part by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, and also by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Ford Foundation and ActBlue. Greenwood describes the proposed legislation in H.R. 1 –- what we like to call the “Legalize Voter Fraud Act” –- as “the biggest step the federal government has taken to protect the right to vote since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.” It would be a big step, all right, in that it would unconstitutionally place elections under federal control. Adams has his own name for the bill; he calls it “a partisan weapon masquerading as a civil rights law.”

Here’s how radical and intrusive this group is: Harvard Election Law Center adviser Nicholas Stephanopoulos (not sure if he might be related to George), in a piece he wrote for Marc Elias’ group Democracy Docket, argued that Congress should refuse to seat a candidate who benefits from voter suppression under Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution. He defines voter suppression as “policies that make it hard for people to register and vote.” We learned in 2020 how broadly they interpret that. They made it so easy to vote, any dead person can do it. And every vote by a dead person suppresses the vote of a live person who’s almost guaranteed to have voted Republican.

Another organization, Protect Democracy, is actually two: the 501(c)3 Protect Democracy Project, which is tax exempt and supposedly non-partisan hahahahaha, and the 501(c)4 United to Protect Democracy, which admits it is partisan. They list 70 employees on their website, but their address is a mailbox service they share with hundreds of organizations.

We wrote about the Protect Democracy Project when it gave a $300,000 check to Whistleblower Aid, which supported Eric Ciaramella, whose ginned-up complaint started Trump’s first impeachment.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/23/senate-report-confirms-suspected-impeachment-whistleblower-met-ukrainian-prosecutors/

Time Magazine wrote a piece last February about the alliance of these political groups with business titans like Mark Zuckerberg --- not to question their actions, but to praise them for “saving” the 2020 election. It was “an extraordinary shadow effort, dedicated not to winning the vote but to ensuring it would be free and fair, credible and uncorrupted.” (If you need to take a break to run and throw up, go ahead. We’ll wait.)

Feel better? Here’s the link to the full article, but I warn you, you’ll just have to throw up again.

https://time.com/5936036/secret-2020-election-campaign/

The Protect Democracy Project also conveniently owns a software company, VoteShield, that monitors voter databases. I am not kidding. Hemingway’s article has details.

J. Christian Adams, who has his own organization, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, says there are far fewer groups on the right to hold the left accountable for mistakes and/or misdeeds. I’d say going to law school now seems pretty much like going to journalism school –- not to practice law or journalism, but to “fundamentally transform.”

For when you have time, I’ll link to the video and transcript of a great interview by the founder and CEO of American Majority, Ned Ryun, with another Hemingway, this time Mollie, about the 2020 election. Having written the book RIGGED, she can summarize so clearly what was done, especially by sponsors such as Mark Zuckerberg and the Center for Tech and Civic Life. Elias’ strategy, she says, is to “expand the sphere of litigation, depending on how an election turns out.”

And that’s why our lawyers have to be better than their lawyers.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/ned-ryun-interviews-author-columnist-and-fox-news-frontpagemagcom/

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Surprise announcement

December 8, 2021

In a surprise announcement Monday, Rep. Devin Nunes revealed that he will leave Congress in January to become the CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group. That’s former President Trump’s company that plans to launch a new free speech social media platform called TRUTH that’s already raised $1 billion in private funding.

https://www.westernjournal.com/shock-news-devin-nunes-donald-trump-fire-first-shot-war-big-tech-tyranny/

Nunes was instrumental in exposing the Trump-Russia hoax that Democrats like Rep. Adam “Biggest Liar In Congress (And That’s Saying Something!)” Schiff pushed for years. Nunes endured a gale of hatred and mockery from the media, but in the end, he was proven correct.

Nunes has long been a fierce critic of Big Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook and Google for their censorship and shadow banning of conservative political views and prioritizing of leftist-slanted news. He also sued Twitter over two parody accounts with his name on them that he says defamed him, but the case was thrown out because Twitter has Section 230 protection since it’s a “neutral platform, not a publisher.”

(Pardon me while I clean up the coffee that I spit on my keyboard when I burst out laughing.)

While Nunes’ departure will leave the Republicans with one fewer vote in a closely-divided House, it likely won’t make much difference. Some Democrats talk about being moderate and not going along with the crazy, leftwing ideologues, but in the end, they almost always vote in lockstep, so one fewer Republican vote probably wouldn’t make much effect. And the Democrats who are destroying California just redrew the district where Nunes was reelected last year by over 54% to try to stick those voters with yet another Democrat, so he was facing a tough reelection.

Let’s just hope that after next November, there will be at least 60 more Republican votes, and his departure really won’t be felt that much. Judging from all the House Democrats who’ve announced that they’re leaving without even having new jobs lined up, I assume that’s what they expect, too. Then maybe the House can get to work doing something about that Section 230 protection.

CNN must’ve hated Monday even more than Garfield the cat does. The “news” network’s reputation, already covered with more mud than a Louisiana pickup truck, took several more hits on Monday.

First, newly-fired anchor Chris Cuomo threw CNN boss Jeff Zucker under the bus, claiming that Zucker was fully aware from the start of all the “help” Cuomo gave his brother Andrew. CNN issued a statement that Cuomo had made “a number of accusations that are patently false,”and “This reinforces why he was terminated for violating our standards and practices, as well as his lack of candor.”

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/12/06/chris-cuomo-just-escalated-his-war-with-cnn-in-a-big-way-n487500

Also, Chris Cuomo is reportedly preparing to sue CNN for the $18-$20 million remaining on his contract. A CNN insider said they have no intention of paying him, that there’s a standard morals clause in the contract allowing for immediate firing if you do anything of disrepute, and there would be an uproar if the network paid him a settlement.

Frankly, if you can’t fire someone for doing what Cuomo did, then what can you ever fire anyone for? Oh, and in a related story, Cuomo announced that he will also no longer be doing his SiriusXM Radio show, “Let’s Get After It with Chris Cuomo.”

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2021/12/07/chris-cuomo-is-out-of-his-second-job-too-n2600242

Meanwhile, the farcical trial of actor Jussie Smollett also produced an unexpected mudball aimed at CNN.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/12/06/jussie-smolletts-testimony-about-don-lemon-shows-what-a-dumpster-fire-cnn-is-n487569

Smollett claimed in testimony that the reason he didn’t want to turn his cell phone over to Chicago Police was that CNN anchor Don Lemon texted him that the cops didn’t believe his story. So once again, a claim that a CNN anchor was abusing his inside journalist contacts to secretly help someone the network was covering.

If that doesn’t remind you enough of Chris Cuomo, recall that the openly gay Lemon is already facing a lawsuit by a man who accused him of sexual assault and battery in a Long Island bar. The accuser called CNN “a network rife with predators and perverts,” and “a predator-protecting machine.” He said they have tried to buy him off and scare him off, but he’s looking forward to forcing Lemon to testify under oath because he wants some accountability. He said, “They are complicit. This is who they are.”

And will Lemon face any repercussions from CNN? Many are skeptical…

https://redstate.com/joesquire/2021/12/07/don-lemon-is-proof-chris-cuomo-was-the-rule-at-cnn-not-the-exception-n487661

All this had even some CNN staffers fretting on-air that all this negative news might damage CNN’s credibility and undermine the public’s trust in CNN.

Noooo!! Say it ain’t so! The network that spent four years breathlessly pushing the Russian collusion hoax, that told us Nick Sandmann was a racist who confronted a Native American and Kyle Rittenhouse was a murderer, and that claimed Joe Rogan treated his COVID with horse medicine might have lost the public’s trust?!

Hey, CNN, I finally have some much-needed good news for you. You can’t lose what you didn’t have in the first place.

Mike Huckabee's Prayer Tree

December 8, 2021

We are stronger together.  Submit your prayer request for HEALTH & HEALING or IN MEMORIAM by going here.

Our hope is that our newsletter readers and social media followers will consider these prayer requests each day.

HEALTH AND HEALING

"Please pray for the families, friends and community affected by the recent student murders at Oxford HIgh School in Michigan. They are deep in grief and shock."

"Prayers for my oldest son who is facing serious charges on a self defense action, for my baby daughter who was diagnosed with cancer had surgery and started chemotherapy then ended up in the hospital because she is allergic to the chemotherapy treatment and finally for my youngest son who is questioning his faith in God who says he doesn’t see his love in his life. I ask for prayer to heal to free and to reveal."

"Please pray for my eldest daughter Debbie who is nearly 65 & has Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer. Her food is not being digested at all & she's losing wt. rapidly. Tomorrow a tooth will be pulled that may be contributing to the problem. I just have been with her twice & return home tomorrow."

"My friend, Joncy M. She fell last week and is now in hospital diagnosed with emphysema and COPD. Prayers for healing."

"Please keep my granddaughter Lauren in prayer. She is only 18 but yet for a couple of years she has been ill. Praying we find the right Dr with correct diagnosis. She also suffers from anxiety which makes the situation worse. Thank you, Lupe"

"Please pray for my 33 yr old son Graham. He is struggling with alchohol addiction. Satan has a very tight grip on him. He's very alone and angry. He grew up in a Christian home but has lost all faith since the cancer death of his father. He needs Christ and freedom from his addiction as well as some Godly friends. Thanks for praying."

"Please pray for my aunts cat, currently battling cancer. Its my aunts true friend and confidante. Cats name is Barbie."

"Lifting up in prayer for Linda N. and her family. How devastating to lose husband, daughter, sister. May God comfort you and may you always feel his presence. Praying for the healing of your brother. God is able!"

"Pray for my granddaughter Rachel.

"Pray she will open her heart and come to Jesus and her family. The strain will be removed and Peace will enter in."

"Please pray for my family’s return to Christ. We were part of a church/school that completely disillusioned my daughters, Rachael and Pauline, as well as my granddaughters, Cassidy, Sevyn and Alaisa, and grandson Jonathan. I pray that God would bring each back to his flock, as he promised not to lose even one! Thank you Jesus!"

"I request you pray for my father, he will be 89 on December 20. He has lewy body dementia."

"Pray for the people of Afghanistan to awaken to Who Jesus really is--the only begotten Son of God--and then turn to Him for the gift of eternal life and for protection and provision in this life."

IN MEMORIAM

"James (Jim) Elliot Doescher, Vietnam war hero, wonderful and beloved husband who gave back to other veterans and civilians to atone for Vietnam. He was a forward observer and lived with that every day. He died in August, 2021 of war related issues and is buried in Biloxi Military Cemetery. God have mercy and grace and blessing on him. He was my love for 57 years."

"We lost another WW2 veteran 11.20.2021, my 98 year old mother 2nd Lt. Mary Crews McBurney passed away. Greatest Generation!"

FORWARD TO A FRIEND

In the comments on my website, everyday, I find readers thanking me for my newsletter.  If you would like to help me grow it, forward this email to a friend or family member and ask them to please sign up using the link below.  Thank you.

- Mike Huckabee

https://www.mikehuckabee.com/morning-newsletter-subscribe

 

Get pizza, take a shot of vaccine! Now, that's "pizza with everything."

In a shocking story, a mom named Maribel Duarte told NBC Los Angeles that her 13-year-old son had come home from school with a vaccine card and told her he had accepted the shot after being offered pizza.

Offered? The word is “bribed.” (Not sure if he put it that way to his mom, but that’s what it was.) The boy was even told not to say anything about it.

“It hurt to know he got a shot without my permission, without knowing and without signing any papers for him to get the shot,” Duarte said.

The school was Barack Obama Global Prep Academy in South L.A. How ironic that this happened at a school named for the President who pushed a mandate for government health care policies. Feel free to make up your own joke.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has determined that all students 12 and over are required to be “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19 by January 10, 2022, unless they’re granted a waiver or “other exemption.” That date is looming, but it looks as though they’re getting there, largely because, according to the story in FOX News, this district –- the second largest in the United States –- saw its enrollment drop by more than 27,000, or 6 percent, at the start of this school year over the mandate. At this point, among those who are still enrolled, the district boasts a vaccination rate of over 80 percent.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-boy-coronavirus-vaccine-pizza-consent-school

For LAUSD employees, the requirement started earlier. October 15 was the deadline for teachers and other staff to get their first shot. Those who hadn’t had one dose by then would not be able to return to work. One might think that in California, everybody was on board with the mandate, but that is definitely not the case.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/school-vaccine-mandate-california-covid-coroanvirus-gavin-newsom/2719402/

The district says they haven’t confirmed that this incident with the student occurred, but Duarte said her son told her that the woman who’d given him the shot --- and signed the paper --- had told him to keep it a secret. “Please don’t say anything,” she said to the student. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

The school district does have what they call an “incentive program,” with the word “incentive” apparently meaning, at least in this case, “bribe.” They call it their Safe Steps to Safe Schools Incentive Program. “This program offers incentives to families who upload proof of their vaccine, have an approved medical exemption, or have conditional admissions.” Once they upload this proof, they are issued a “Daily Pass” to be able to attend class. They still have to wear a mask and socially distance “as best possible.”

It’s not clear what “conditional admissions” means. Perhaps some kids are sensitive to gluten and can’t eat the free pizza. Here's a closer look at the program.

https://achieve.lausd.net/covid

“The science is clear,” it begins, even though the scientific evidence in favor of vaccinating 12-year-olds for COVID-19 is not clear at all. Elsewhere on the site, it says, “Strong scientific evidence shows that vaccinations are an essential part of protecting our communities,” and links to this from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/148/2/e2021052336/179782/COVID-19-Vaccines-in-Children-and-Adolescents

It recommends COVID vaccination for children 12 and up. Still, if you read all the way to the bottom, there is this caveat: “The guidance in this statement does not indicate an exclusive course of treatment or serve as the standard of medical care. Variations, taking into account individual circumstances, may be appropriate.”

That’s funny, because by adhering to these strict deadlines, district officials ARE requiring “an exclusive course of treatment” and setting "the standard of medical care.” They need to remember they are not doctors –- or parents –- so they are about the last people who should be determining which “individual circumstances” to take into account.

The school district told NBC Los Angeles that “several steps are in place to ensure vaccinated students receive prizes.”

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/mom-says-son-vaccinated-in-exchange-for-pizza-at-lausd-without-her-consent/2773619/

In all our searching, we still couldn’t turn up what the supposed “incentives” or “prizes” are that go to students and families (other than simply to be able to come in and attend class in person –- and free pizza, of course), or what those “conditional admissions” are. But the site explains that in order to be fully vaccinated by the deadline of January 10, every student 12 years old or older must receive the first shot no later than November 21 and the second no later than December 19. Younger students “must receive their first vaccine dose by no later than 30 days after their 12th birthday, and their second dose by no later than 8 weeks after their 12th birthday.”

For students 5-11, the vaccine is “highly encouraged” but not currently mandatory. The district started offering it on November 8.

Presumably, Duarte’s son had hit the deadline of November 21 without being vaccinated and would have had to leave school and take his classes online unless he got the first shot on schedule.

Tammy Bruce, host of Tuesday’s “Fox News Primetime,” spoke about this with with flabbergasted attorney Pam Bondi, former attorney general of Florida. “It’s not only disturbing,” she said, “but it is illegal, obviously, in the state of California.” Parental consent is still absolutely required for children under 18 to receive a COVID vaccine. Bondi pointed out that this boy has asthma and allergies –- something his mother would have known but the school likely did not. What if he’d had a reaction to the shot? Schools never used to give a child so much as a baby aspirin without parental approval.

“Parents, it is your choice,” Bondi said, “whether or not your children are going to be vaccinated. Not teachers, not the socialists, not the school bureaucrats who go rogue, and they have to be held accountable.” She said this parent has a civil case, and that it might even be considered criminal battery, as children can’t give consent.

The woman who gave the shot was right about one thing: if this kid said anything, she WOULD be in trouble, along with the school, the district, and everyone who’s pushing to do this or anything else to kids against their parents’ wishes. It’s a good thing he told his mom.

We’re not hearing a lot about Nancy Pelosi’s January “9/11-style” committee to examine events of January 6, but rest assured, it's still going on, and they are playing hardball. After all, they have domestic terrorism to combat! In fact, the chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, made a shocking statement about how he intended to deal with a subpoenaed Trump supporter who worked at the Justice Department, Jeffrey Clark –- someone who never entered the Capitol that day and has not been accused of any crime.

“Our charge is to get to the facts,” he said on MSNBBC. “Mr. Clark, through his attorney, has been deliberately avoiding us...Obviously, he is aware that something went on that’s illegal. And rather than be responsible and answer, he’s pleading the Fifth. But if he’s saying, ‘Okay, I’ll come, but I’ll plead the Fifth, then in some instances, that says you’re, part and parcel, guilty to what occurred.”

What??

Sure enough, the committee voted unanimously to recommend that Clark be charged with contempt of Congress.

Jeffrey Clark is asserting his constitutional right not to testify. That doesn’t mean he’s guilty of anything. It might mean, however, that he’s concerned his testimony might be twisted and used by these partisan crazies to make him LOOK guilty. He gets to make that call. Rep. Thompson’s remark, if made in a court of law, might be enough to trigger a mistrial. A similar remark by a prosecutor almost did that during the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Tucker Carlson opened his Monday show with a segment on this, saying of Rep. Thompson’s comment, “What you just saw is far more imminently dangerous to our democracy than anything that happened on January 6.” And he is correct.

Carlson also noted that Democrats on the committee (plus Liz Cheney) have subpoenaed AT&T for the phone records of Caroline Wren, who used to work as a fundraiser for Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham and who helped organize donations for the January 6 rally. This includes all records, including text messages, from November 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021. They also want her bank records and even everything she’s written in her own handwriting, including personal diary entries. Talk about an overreach --- this is monstrous.

https://january6th.house.gov/sites/democrats.january6th.house.gov/files/210929%20Caroline%20Wren%20Letter.pdf

And apparently this is just one example. Others who have yet to be accused of any crime are being treated the same way. Republican attorney Cleta Mitchell is another; she’s been informed by AT&T that the committee wants several months of her phone records. This is because she was on a phone call with President Trump and the Georgia secretary of state about problems with the vote in Georgia. (Oh, goodness, don’t tell me there might have been problems with the vote in Georgia!)

AT&T is complying with the committee’s requests.

Another Trump supporter targeted with a subpoena is attorney John Eastman, who worked with Trump in the election aftermath and spoke at the January 6 rally. On Friday, Verizon notified him that unless he gets a court order to stop it, they’ll turn over his personal text messages to the committee. The Washington Examiner has a report.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/ex-trump-lawyer-john-eastman-plans-to-plead-the-fifth-to-the-jan-6-committee

Eastman also plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights, as his lawyer, Charles Burnham, has informed Rep. Thompson. His letter states, “Members of this very committee have spoken of making criminal referrals to the Department of Justice and described the Committee’s work in terms of determining ‘guilt or innocence.’ ...Dr. Eastman has a more than reasonable fear that any statements he makes pursuant to this subpoena will be used in an attempt to mount a criminal investigation against him.”

Burnham also objected to the “legal propriety” of the subpoena, saying that the “lack of a ranking minority member makes it impossible for the Committee to comply with clearly applicable House rules.”

So, why would there be no ranking member? Recall that Pelosi rejected some of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s picks for the committee –- which he was supposed to be allowed to make under the resolution that created it –- and herself selected anti-Trump “Republicans” Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger to serve. McCarthy had wanted the too-effective Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and Indiana Rep. Jim Banks.

Thompson later named Cheney as co-chair of the committee for this show trial! Talk about a kangaroo court.

Eastman reportedly pressured Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election results. Pence went ahead and did it, saying he lacked constitutional authority to refuse. It was also reported that Eastman spoke with legislators in swing states about sending alternate electors to the Electoral College.

Eastman appeared on Tucker’s Monday show, saying that not only has he not been charged with a crime, but there’s absolutely no evidence that he had “any connections or communications with anybody who is charged with a crime.” “This is the modern high-tech version of a general warrant [from English days of yore],” he said, the kind of thing that allowed fishing expeditions “to look for evidence of crime.” He said that in this case, “there’s no probable cause, there’s no linkage to any criminal activity that has occurred.” It’s the same for “hundreds of people on these subpoena lists that were sent to Verizon and AT&T, and probably every other phone company in the country. There’s no evidence at all, but they want to track Americans’ thinking, they want to know who your contacts are...about election integrity, and going back from before even the election occurred.”

The First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments are all being trashed here. Eastman accused Rep. Thompson of presuming people guilty instead of innocent as the Constitution requires. Even the Sixth Amendment, the right to counsel, is being violated, he said, when attorneys such as Cleta Mitchell have to give up phone records that surely include privileged communications. “They’re just shredding the entire Constitution,” he said, “and then claiming that it’s us that don’t support the Constitution. It really is rather extraordinary.”

Eastman says the committee has the weight of the “Justice” Department behind it now when it issues criminal contempt citations. “Normally those don’t go anywhere,” he said, and we’ve seen that is true when it comes to particular officials who’ve gotten away with lying. He also speculated that even the phone companies would prefer not to comply with what this committee is demanding they do, but that they know “they’re gonna be held in criminal contempt if they don’t.”

He said it will now take a court order to try and block “these unbelievably expansive and unconstitutional subpoenas of our private records and communications.”

“We have got to push back against this stuff,” he concluded, “or we’re gonna lose our country before our eyes.”

In related news, you’ll recall we’ve expressed strong suspicions that the FBI had agents mixed in with the crowd during Trump’s rally, spurring on the “insurrection.” Attorney Joseph McBride appeared briefly on Tucker’s Monday show, calling for the release of videos that he says will unmask these agents to reveal “the truth of that day.” He’s joined by a number of news outlets, including, believe it or not, The New York Times. The Washington Examiner has a report.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice/attorney-asks-court-to-unmask-jan-6-footage-of-suspected-undercover-agents

Pearl Harbor Day

December 7, 2021

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the 80th anniversary of the “date which will live in infamy.” On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan launched a sneak attack on the US Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, that brought the US into World War II. 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded, making it the deadliest attack on America until September 11, 2001.

It is very important that we commemorate these days. I know that the horror and tragedy are not easy to think about, but only by remembering these tragic days will we prevent letting ourselves be lulled into complacency about evil in the world and forgetting to prepare for unexpected attacks. Even now, we have an entire generation for whom 9/11 happened before they were even born, and the media’s attempts to suppress the ugly truth of it have convinced many of these young people that America somehow “had it coming.”

Americans are now very divided, and remembering these attacks also reminds us of how we put petty differences aside and came together as Americans, because what America stands for is bigger than any one group’s personal political agenda. That’s inconvenient for those who profit by dividing us, but it’s good for the nation. As one Vietnam veteran told Fox News, “If we don't unite today, we will certainly fall."

Fox News has more on the history of Pearl Harbor and veterans’ thoughts about it:

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/pearl-harbor-80th-anniversary-veterans-america-unite

And here’s a story about a small group of elderly survivors of the attack who gathered today at that site in Hawaii to remember the fallen heroes and the attack that launched America into World War II.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/pearl-harbor-survivors-gather-remember-lost-attack

All of us at the Huckabee Newsletter send our greatest respect and gratitude to them and to all veterans. I will end by saying what our grandparents said all through World War II:

“Remember Pearl Harbor!”

From our "Far Overdue" file

December 7, 2021

At least 10 Antifa radicals are facing prosecution for allegedly committing “violent criminal acts” to disrupt a peaceful pro-Trump rally in San Diego.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-fascists-charged-alleged-attacks-california-pro-trump-protesters

Prosecutors say the evidence shows this was not a mutual altercation, and that the Antifa groups used social media to plan “direct action” against the Trump supporters. That includes assaulting people with tear gas, sticks, a flag pole, a folding chair and other items. One even allegedly pepper sprayed a man and his dog. Because of the planning, this is the first time laws against criminal conspiracy have been used against Antifa, but let’s hope it’s not the last time. The Biden DOJ might pretend that Antifa doesn’t exist, but they seem pretty real when they’re attacking you with tear gas and sticks.

While I’m very glad to see this, and think we should have seen such stories many months ago (San Diego may be the only place we’ll ever see it on California), I take exception to one thing in this story: the repeated use of the phrase “anti-fascists” to describe Antifa. These are radical thugs who use violence and intimidation to try to silence anyone who disagrees with their political views. Calling them anti-fascists would be like calling that poor dog they assaulted a cat. They are fascists, pure and simple. And let’s hope that they will soon be accurately called “convicted felons.”

By the way, a commenter on this story asks a good question: do these people have jobs? The suspects are all “adults,” in age anyway, ranging to as old as 39. Yet they seem to devote much of their time to going around causing trouble and attacking people. Do they actually have jobs, or is someone paying them to do this?

Flashback: As a reminder of how long this kind of political violence has been going on, here’s a story from August 2020 about Sen. Rand Paul and his wife being attacked by a leftist mob while trying to leave the GOP Convention after President Trump’s nomination acceptance speech.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/1382462/mob-donald-trump-protesters-attack-republican-senator-rand-paul/

My wife Janet and I were there, and it was harrowing for us to try to leave the area, too, although thankfully, the security held the mob back by then. This is another reason why I have to roll my eyes at the Democrats’ melodramatic claims that January 6th was a shocking and unprecedented attack on our democratic system. They’d spent the previous year cheering on attacks on political free speech, public safety and the rule of law, but it somehow only became a real problem when it threatened them.

RIP Bob Dole

December 6, 2021

All of us here at the Huckabee Newsletter wish to extend our prayers and sympathy to former Sen. Elizabeth Dole and the rest of the family of former Senator and Presidential candidate Bob Dole, who died in his sleep Sunday at 98. He had announced earlier this year that he was being treated for stage 4 lung cancer.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bob-dole-dead-98

It was a miracle that he survived World War II, having served heroically in battle in Italy, where he was severely injured by enemy gunfire and lost the use of his right arm. His devotion to his fellow veterans became a lifelong mission, and as chairman of the World War II Memorial Commission, he helped raise nearly $200 million to build the WWII memorial on the National Mall.

Dole’s former colleagues and all the living ex-Presidents praised Dole as a statesman, patriot and war hero. President Biden recalled him as a friend with whom he often disagreed politically, but who never hesitated to work with Democrats on bipartisan areas of agreement (of course, that was back when there were a lot more of those.) Biden also announced that flags would fly at half-staff in memory of Dole, who, as his death announcement stated, “served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years.”

Dole was also famous for his quick wit and using humor to make his points. He even wrote a book called “Great Political Wit.” And he cheerfully poked fun at himself, played along with Norm McDonald’s impression of him on “SNL,” and was a great talk show guest, as this compilation of Letterman appearances shows: https://youtu.be/uBklPt7oUOc

Dole’s amazing life and career would take too much space even to summarize in this newsletter, so I suggest you click the link for more details, or read his terrific book, “One Soldier’s Story: A Memoir,” or his duel-memoir with his wife Elizabeth, “Unlimited Partners: Our American Story.”

On a personal level, I simply loved Bob Dole. When I was a fledgling candidate for the US Senate in 1992, few people thought I had a chance to defeat long-time incumbent Dale Bumpers in my very first political outing. Turned out they were right, but one person who came to Arkansas to campaign for me was Senator Bob Dole. He did events with me in NW Arkansas and in Little Rock. His presence warranted much needed news coverage and credibility for me. I was with him in the car when an elderly gentleman came rushing to the vehicle to hand the Senator a large envelope and say, “Senator, I have some ideas on reducing the deficit I’d like to give you.” I was seated in the back seat with Senator Dole, and his aide seated in the front turned and said, “Senator, want me to take that for you?” It was a kind way of saying, “Sir, I’ll take that and dispose of it for you.” The Senator said, “No son, I’ll hold on to it and give it a look. That gentleman may have better ideas than we do. Lord knows we aren’t doing much to reduce the deficit and he might have something worth considering.” It wasn’t that this legendary Senator needed the contents of that envelope. But in his words and actions, Bob Dole showed a rare quality for politicians who sometimes become removed from rubbing shoulders with anonymous citizens. He showed that man RESPECT. I never forgot it. And it also taught me the value of helping candidates when they need the help the most—in the early days of what might be an unlikely victory for their campaigns.

When I launched HuckPAC, I purposed to help elect pro-life conservatives to public office at all levels. But while we help incumbents who usually will have adequate funding, we have gotten in early for good candidates who we clearly realize may not win the race, but who might be better prepared to win their NEXT race. There are people in Congress, the Senate, Governor offices and all kinds of public offices from school board to state legislature who received the endorsement and financial support of HuckPAC. They can thank Bob Dole for teaching me that lesson.

When Senator Dole ran for President in 1996, he asked me to serve on his national steering committee. Without hesitation, I gladly and eagerly said “yes,” and campaigned with him and for him across America. The more time I spent with him, the more I loved him, respected him, and learned from him.

Bob Dole is a real hero. For all he did in World War II to give us our freedom, to his lifetime of thoughtful service to our nation in public service. He is irreplaceable. But I pray he’s never forgotten. He certainly won’t be by me. Rest in peace, Senator Dole. You’ve earned it!

Sadly, Bob Dole is not the only World War II hero to whom we’re paying our last respects. It was also announced that Edward Shames passed away peacefully at home Friday in Virginia at 99.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/edward-shames-last-of-the-surviving-wwii-officers-who-inspired-hbos-band-of-brothers-dies-at-99/ar-AARugs2

Shames was the last surviving member of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, the legendary unit whose involvement in some of the key battles in Europe inspired the hit HBO miniseries and book, “Band of Brothers.” After the war, he continued to serve America as a Middle East expert for the NSA and in the Army Reserves, where he retired with the rank of colonel.

I’m sure most Americans will join me in offering a final, grateful salute to two of the greatest members of the “Greatest Generation.”

For nearly 50 years, Americans who have held to a belief that all human life is sacred and valuable have grieved the fact that the United States is among a handful of nations – including Communist China and North Korea – that allow for abortion on demand beyond the point when babies can feel pain.

Many on the other side of the political aisle often point to aspects of European culture or economic policy as worthy of aspiring toward, but refuse to confront the fact that even the overwhelming majority of these nations limit abortion at 15 weeks or earlier.

Which brings us to the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in this case on December 1, marking the first serious challenge in a generation to the abortion regime established under Roe v. Wade and clarified under Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The case concerns a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of gestation, when we know unborn children have limbs and fully-developed hearts, can taste, make facial expressions, yawn, hiccup, swallow and suck their thumbs.

Protecting these little ones from gruesome, painful and barbaric abortion procedures is the duty of any society that claims the mantles of morality and justice.

This is not a fringe position. In fact, three-quarters of Americans, including a majority who identify as pro-choice, want significant restrictions on abortion according to a Marist survey conducted earlier this year.

Americans may be familiar with the concept that the legal precent under Roe v. Wade grants women the right to terminate a pregnancy, but most are far less clear on the specifics around abortion or what it would mean if the nation’s highest court struck the ruling down.

Simply put, a decision by a majority of the Supreme Court to overturn Roe would not create a federal ban on abortion. What it would do is return to the states and the people the policy decisions related to this issue rather than nine justices in black robes based in Washington, D.C. Notably, the movement to defend the unborn also does not seek to punish vulnerable women susceptible to the false notion that abortion is their only or most sensible option.

With the Dobbs case, the day I and many pro-life advocates throughout Arkansas and across our country have been praying for has come. There is a very real possibility that our nearly five-decade nightmare, which has cost the lives of over 60 million children, could be on the verge of ending.

I joined supporters of life who rallied out in front of the Court before and during the oral arguments in this case. I met Arkansans who traveled to the nation’s capital to lend their voices to this essential cause. It was encouraging to be with these passionate individuals who care deeply about this issue.

Defending the right to life is one of the most important things we can do, because every life is precious and protecting the sanctity of life will demonstrate where the true values of our country are found.

This moment could be a turning point in our society’s moral and cultural evolution. The science tells us the unborn are human beings worthy of protection. Our consciences echo that truth.

We pray that our nation’s highest court helps put us back on the right track. We must draw this line in the sand and not shrink back. The stakes are too high. We will continue to lift our voices in defense of life.

Stop scaring voters

December 6, 2021

As the Supreme Court ponders its ruling in the Mississippi abortion restrictions case, Democratic strategists are hoping to gin up “OUTRAGE!” over abortion rights to turn around their increasingly dire election prospects for 2022. This was to be expected. When the Democrats are out of power, they can claim they have to be returned so that competent adult leadership can be restored. But when they’re in power, they can’t make that argument, for obvious reasons.

So they have to terrify their base with claims that the eeeeevil Republicans are going to take away women’s rights (actually, Democrats have done that, under the guise of “trans rights”), or bring back Jim Crow laws (a Democrat invention), or do away with the sacred Constitutional right of women to kill their unborn children. But there are signs that scaring people into voting for more incompetent Democrat rule is wearing thin.

For one thing, look around: it’s hard to think of anything scarier than the current situation under Democratic rule. Does the hypothetical loss of the right to kill your hypothetical unborn child really outweigh the very real fear that the violent criminals Democrats have turned loose on the streets will kill you? Besides, Americans have too many other things to worry about.

As Rick Moran at PJ Media points out, outrage over abortion laws may not be the motivating factor for voters that some Democrats think it is.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/12/05/a-post-outrage-world-abortion-wont-be-the-winning-issue-democrats-think-it-will-be-n1539027

Politico reported that it played no factor in the recent elections in Virginia and New Jersey, where voters were more concerned about stopping school boards from assaulting their children than allowing abortionists to assault their children. A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that voters rank abortion behind taxes and government spending, health care, climate change and the environment, immigration, jobs and the economy as an issue of interest. Exit polls in 2016 found that in picking between the pro-life Trump and the pro-abortion Hillary, only one in five voters named Supreme Court nominations as their most important voting factor, and by a wide margin, those voters were Republicans.

As Moran notes, polls show that only about 10-15% of Americans want abortion banned under all circumstances, 25-30% want it legal in all cases, and the vast majority fall somewhere in the middle. While I wish more people were pro-life, I know enough about politics to know that you can’t run a successful campaign on only that one issue. We’ll soon find out whether Democrats really believe they can retain power solely on a radical pro-abortion stance that’s shared by, at most, 30% of the country. That's actually lower than Joe Biden's approval rating, and that's the thing that has them genuinely terrified.

Chris Cuomo is fired

December 6, 2021

Chris Cuomo’s “indefinite suspension” from CNN has finally advanced to actually being fired.

https://www.westernjournal.com/chair-january-6-committee-exercising-constitutional-rights-hints-suspects-guilty/

The announcement was released Saturday night during a major college championship game, likely in hopes that nobody would notice it. Didn't work. CNN said Cuomo was fired because “additional information has come to light,” then refused to say what it was, which is sort of the opposite of information “coming to light.” It’s also rather strange to suppress a major story when you’re allegedly a news network, but then, “this…is CNN!”

The New York Times claimed it was because a former colleague at another network had made another sexual misconduct claim against Cuomo. So for the record, if you work at CNN, helping to cover up your brother’s political scandals, abusing your journalistic contacts to help him get dirt on women who accuse him of sexual harassment, lying about that, and being accused of sexual misconduct yourself will not get you fired. But if you get accused of sexual misconduct a SECOND time, that’s where they draw the line! They have standards, you know.

Check out that link for more. It also includes some undercover video (warning: rough language!) taken way back in March by Project Veritas. It shows CNN staffers saying it was an open secret that Andrew Cuomo was a “piece of (bleep)” boss, manager and Governor; comparing him to famous sex criminals Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly; and complaining that CNN should have stopped Chris from covering his brother on day one. So at least somebody at CNN does have ethics. Too bad it was nobody who was in charge.

President Trump, during a wide-ranging interview on Sunday’s LIFE, LIBERTY & LEVIN sparked by the release of his new book OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER, discussed what we know about “Election Fraud 2020” and the Trump-Russia collusion hoax, which are linked through the law firm Perkins Coie.

It was Perkins Coie attorney Marc Elias, host Mark Levin noted, “who went all through the states, from 2016 to 2020, trying to change the rules and so forth, had all kinds of dark money behind him.”

Trump interjected that Elias “got fired from Perkins Coie,” though our understanding is that Elias’ exit --- Michael Sussmann’s, too --- was part of an overall legal strategy, as The Elias Firm is still affiliated and is dedicated to getting “progressive” Democrats elected. But certainly Elias “was hot,” as Trump put it.

And, as we’ve known for a long time, all roads led back to Hillary. “They made it up in either her kitchen or a law office,” Trump said of the Russia “collusion” story. Hillary spent millions of dollars to hire “nut job” Steele, he said, though more accurately it seems Steele pocketed relatively little of the money that poured in to attorneys at Perkins Coie and dirt-diggers at Fusion GPS.

Trump reminded Levin that then-Sen. John McCain gave a copy of the “dossier” to the FBI, which we’ve noted was bombarded on all sides with copies of the phony document. “If you did a movie,” he said, “nobody would believe it.”

He said people come up to him and marvel, “How you survived is one of the most incredible things.” Had he not fired Comey, he said, “you might not be talking to me right now about a beautiful book of four years at the White House.” Yet he sees that crew coming back again, which he says “shouldn’t be allowed” to happen. That’s presumably what we have a special counsel for, to determine once and for all what the evidence shows about their roles in the hoax and to issue criminal indictments.

Lee Smith, author of THE PLOT AGAINST THE PRESIDENT and THE PERMANENT COUP, has a new article examining how the media are now distancing themselves from the “dossier” –- not to put an end to the Russia Hoax, but to save it. There are some who will NEVER give up the Russia Hoax.

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/12/02/investigative_issues_medias_nixonian_dossier_dodge_to_save_russiagate_itself_806294.html

Just because the “dossier” was discredited, The New York Times argues, doesn’t mean the “Russia” investigation is undercut. Really?

As Smith explains, this strategy is right out of the Watergate playbook used by President Nixon’s aides to try to head off looming disaster. It’s a standard ploy called “the limited hangout” that goes like this: When you can no longer maintain a phony cover story, acknowledge a few partial truths and a few “small, albeit honest miscues” in order to keep the most damning parts of the story hidden.

“Just as this strategy failed to protect Richard Nixon and his men,” Smith writes, “chances are it won’t help culpable reporters and news organizations avoid responsibility for their active role in the country’s biggest political crime of the past half-century. But it does show quite plainly what the American press has become.”

Here’s a link to the full article –- very highly recommended.

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/limited-hangout-lee-smith

We don’t yet know if Durham has conclusive proof that Hillary was personally aware of her campaign's creation of the Trump-Russia hoax, but we do have circumstantial evidence in the form of her tweet about the fake Alfa Bank story. We also know from then-CIA Director John Brennan in a July 2016 meeting with Obama that Clinton had approved a plan concerning “Trump and Russia hackers hampering U.S. elections as a mean of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.” Still, it’s crystal clear that, as Smith succinctly explains it, “top operatives in her 2016 campaign used concocted falsehoods to leverage active law enforcement officials who in turn used U.S. government programs and resources to spy on the Trump campaign –- a violation of American political norms whose only real parallel is Watergate."

Actually, we’d say it’s much more far-reaching than Watergate, as Smith points out that under the pretext of investigating the “collusion” story, at least 40 Obama officials, including then-Vice President Joe Biden, spied on Trump and/or his team.

And even with the circumstantial evidence that President Obama was aware of what was going on, he has never been asked publicly about the Russia story. Not once.

Smith offers a run-down of the various charges in the Sussmann and Danchenko indictments that will be familiar, but then goes on to hypothesize about how Durham will get what he needs on the FBI officials who were willing participants. “Durham now appears to be using well-documented and relatively easy cases to pressure Sussmann and Danchenko to give up accomplices ‘one rung up,’ likely under the threat of jail time.”

But as the media now scramble to put as much distance between themselves and the Steele “dossier” as possible, the “limited hangout” ploy is in full swing, even though there is no Russia Hoax without the “dossier,” which was the main piece of evidence presented to the FISA court. Smith offers a history lesson on how the Watergate story was broken by the Washington Post, as depicted in ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, and how Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were rightfully “lionized” for uncovering very real criminal wrongdoing. But when it comes to criminal wrongdoing related to Hillary’s campaign, we have the opposite situation today. WAPO and other major outlets were (and are) actually part of the cover-up.

“The job of these new media outlets was not to speak truth to the powerful men and women who owned their platforms and paid their bills,” Smith writes. “Rather, it was to serve as a megaphone for their power --- to use the forms of journalism like ‘investigations’ and ‘whistleblowers’ and ‘inside sources’ to protect and advance the interests of an increasingly ambitious oligarchy that employed the country’s corporate, political, academic and cultural elites as their retainers and servants.”

That pretty well sums up what has happened to journalism, seemingly in the past decade. The fact that the Pulitzer committee rewarded “journalists” for working with a government intel operation falsely targeting a U.S. president tells us we’ve entered a sad new era.

Smith’s article is lengthy and detailed but very clearly written. For when you have time, you can’t do better than this report for a comprehensive look, especially at Clinton campaign operatives’ attempt to frame a man named Sergei Millian, a naturalized U.S. citizen who’d dared to come out publicly in favor of Trump. He’d met Trump in Florida, where he’d assisted in selling some units in a Trump property, and liked Trump’s pro-business attitude. Russian name, support for Trump –- that’s apparently all it took.

I’ll leave you with some added perspective on the warped attempt of the media to tie Trump to some kind of Russia threat. While they’re still obsessed with that, here’s the threat Russia REALLY poses. This is VIP content, but the headline alone says it all.

https://redstate.com/andrewmalcolm/2021/12/05/while-biden-sleeps-putin-prepares-to-grab-ukraine-n486415

Wednesday, the Supreme Court Justices drilled attorneys during oral arguments over Mississippi’s ban on abortion before 15 weeks, the most serious challenge yet to Roe v. Wade.

The general consensus among legal analysts was that the conservative Justices were trying to force the pro-abortion attorneys to offer some kind of concrete rationale for why abortion should be legal, the liberal justices were pushing to maintain the status quo, and Chief Justice John Roberts was looking for some way to split the difference, to allow Mississippi-like restrictions while still preserving the idea of a right to abortion under some circumstances. But even he didn’t seem inclined to defend Roe v. Wade, comparing its arbitrary “viability” standard to those in China and North Korea, which we don’t need to emulate.

https://www.westernjournal.com/normally-moderate-roberts-savages-roe-v-wade-becomes-hero-saying-everyone-else-thinking/

I linked yesterday to an article about four things the SCOTUS had to keep in mind in making their decision, and the liberals' push for maintaining the status quo was one of the logical fallacies mentioned. If a ruling is bad and has terrible consequences (in Roe’s case, the slaughter of over 60 million children in the womb), then saying it’s been around so long and so many people depend on it that we have to keep it is not a rational argument. If a ruling is that bad, then it should have been overturned sooner, not preserved forever. Under that thinking, we’d still have slavery. And preserving a bad ruling doesn't protect the Court's integrity or reputation, it erodes it.

https://www.westernjournal.com/four-things-supreme-court-must-keep-mind-takes-abortion-question/

In this exchange, Justice Clarence Thomas practically had to get his pliers and pull some teeth to get the pro-abortion attorney to admit that they were there to defend the right to abortion rather than just some vague manifestation of the rights to liberty, autonomy or privacy. It appeared that not even the person arguing that there’s a right to abortion in the Constitution wanted to be put in the position of trying to point out where it is.

https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/susan-jones/justice-thomas-what-specifically-right-here-were-talking-about

Justice Sonia Sotomayor gave a great example of how foolish it was with the original Roe decision to expect lawyers in robes to make medical decisions, such as when a fetus becomes viable. Sotomayor argued, contrary to recent medical discoveries, that it was a “fringe” idea to suggest that babies in the womb can feel pain before 24 weeks, and compared fetuses to “braindead” people.

https://dailycaller.com/2021/12/01/follow-science-pro-lifers-slam-justice-sotomayor-compared-unborn-babies-braindead-people/

I can think of someone I could compare to braindead people, but that doesn’t mean she can’t feel pain.

For more, this is a good article from PJ Media, summarizing 10 key moments during the oral arguments.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/chris-queen/2021/12/01/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-todays-oral-arguments-in-dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization-n1538007

Finally, Larry O’Connor at Townhall.com shows how Justice Kavanaugh hit the nail on the head by pointing out that you cannot accommodate both sides, you have to choose. What does the Constitution say? Does it protect the right of humans in the womb to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or does it protect the right of a pregnant woman to abort her child?

https://townhall.com/columnists/larryoconnor/2021/12/01/justice-kavanaugh-just-boiled-the-abortion-debate-down-to-its-most-fundamental-core-n2599912

All I can say is that I’ve read the Constitution a fair number of times, and I’ve never found the word “abortion” in it anywhere.

Where the money is

December 3, 2021

Wondering why leftism and wokeness are poisoning the sciences? Partly because of peer pressure and fear of the Twitter mob, but also because that’s where the money is.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/government-science-grants-increasingly-promote-woke-ideas-study-finds

A Ph.D. candidate in computer science at Northwestern University was studying how to make a grant proposal when he noticed the same woke buzzwords popping up in all the proposals he read. So he did a study and found that nearly a third of the abstracts for grants from the National Science Foundation, the government’s primary science grant distributor, contained highly politicized terms. He found that 30.4% of them included at least one of these terms: “equity,” “diversity,” “inclusion,” “gender,” “marginalize,” “underrepresented” or “disparity.”

This was especially common in education and human resources grants (53.8%), but even 22.6% of math and physical science grants contained them, up from 0.9% in 1990. Wokeism is doing the same thing to science grants that crabgrass does to lawns: rapidly expanding and choking out the good stuff.

The researcher said this is evidence that the NSF is getting increasingly politicized, and the growing sameness of the grants reflects a political litmus test that discourages conservative researchers from applying or being honest on applications. Ironically, this rewarding of woke leftism is resulting in less diversity, as only grants from one viewpoint get funded. In other words, there's a big disparity in grant awards diversity and inclusiveness because conservatives are being marginalized and underrepresented.

But I guess that’s okay, since being woke means you define “diversity” as giving a fair chance to people of every race, gender and skin color, as long as they agree with you 100%.

Latest taker of the red pill

December 3, 2021

If you listen to the Democrats and their media stenographers, you’d think that the only reason anyone would not vote Republican is that they must be a greedy racist. That little bit of overused slander may be wearing out its welcome as the Democrats’ massive failures of policy are now too obvious and painful even for many of their longtime supporters to ignore.

Latest taker of the Red Pill: Victor Jimenez. He was not only a Democrat but the lead public information officer for liberal Washington, DC, Mayor Murial Bowser’s office for community affairs.

https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2021/12/02/watch-former-d-c-mayor-spox-tells-tucker-why-he-left-dem-party-and-voted-for-youngkin-n485383

Jimenez told Tucker Carlson that his conversion started with voting for Republican Glenn Youngkin for Virginia Governor, and he’s now switched parties. The reason: “Biden turned me into a Republican” and “destroyed the economy.”

Wait, I can hear the Democrats saying, are you sure he’s not just a white supremacist racist? Actually, he’s of Dominican background. One of his chief concerns is that Biden’s open borders are letting people stream into the US with guns, drugs and criminal records and harm Hispanic communities. Even good people who just want jobs are undermining the wages of Hispanic American families. He said people can feel the rise in crime and violence, and “everything is crumbling for the Democrats.” He predicted that Youngkin’s victory was the beginning of the end, and more will come in 2022.

Interestingly, he said he knows he’s going against the narrative because Democrats expect him to be a Democrat by default. Funny, I would think that assuming someone has to think and vote a certain way just because of his race would be…racist.

The Democrats can pound the “racist” straw man all they want, but their real problem is that so many Americans are being exposed to the same thing that converted this public information officer: too much public information.

In 2018, The New York Times and the Washington Post were honored with the coveted Pulitzer Prize for 20 articles described as “deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the public’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.”

The award was for their coverage of Trump-Russia "collusion," based on Christopher Steele’s thoroughly discredited “dossier,” and now that the story has been exposed as a lie, these “news” outlets should have to give it back.

Here's OUR description of their work (are you listening, Pulitzer committee?): deeply flawed, badly sourced yet relentlessly reported fake news that defied the public interest by furthering the public’s misunderstanding, by lying about Russian "collusion" with the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration.

Real journalist Aaron Mate at RealClearInvestigations has written a fabulous article on these publications’ completely inadequate attempts at “fixing” some of their mistakes/lies, offering detailed suggestions for how they really could correct what they wrote. It’s called “Five Trump-Russia ‘Collusion’ Corrections We Need From the Media Now –- Just For Starters.”

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2021/11/24/five_trump-russia_collusion_corrections_we_need_from_the_media_now_-_just_for_starters_804205.html

It’s been FIVE YEARS since BuzzFeed published the “dossier,” peddled by Michael Sussmann, now under indictment by Special Counsel John Durham for failing to tell the FBI that he was Hillary’s attorney when he gave them the story. Steele’s main source, Igor Danchenko, is charged with lying as well. Sara Fischer at Axios has called this reporting “one of the most egregious journalistic errors in modern history” and says the media’s response to its own fake reporting has been “tepid.” She points out that Axios did not publish the “dossier” or any original reporting based on its contents, as it was not verified. Thank you, Axios.

(Note: Also, in all these years, the Huckabee team has never had to retract or correct anything we’ve said about Trump and Russia.)

https://www.axios.com/steele-dossier-discredited-media-corrections-buzzfeed-washington-post-6b762a0b-64a9-4259-8697-298e2f04fb3e.html

Fischer does give WAPO credit for allowing their media critic, Eric Wemple, to write about the mistakes they and other media outlets made in covering the Russia “collusion” story. In contrast, BuzzFeed still has the “dossier” posted, with a note added that “The allegations are unverified, and the report contains errors.” Nice of them to at least say that, five years later.

Ben Smith, BuzzFeed’s then-editor-in-chief, told Axios, “My view on the logic of publishing hasn’t changed.” He’s now a columnist for The New York Times.

Some outlets didn’t respond to Fischer’s calls about this. David Corn, in a comment to Wemple, revealed his continuing denial of reality: “My priority has been to deal with the much larger topic of Russia’s undisputed attack and Trump’s undisputed collaboration with Moscow’s cover-up.” What??

After the federal indictment of Danchenko, WAPO quietly re-edited a dozen stories related to Steele and the “dossier,” In a couple of cases –- stories written by Rosalind Helderman and Tom Hamberger –- this involved removal of entire sections, changing headlines, and adding lengthier editor’s notes. But, as the RealClearInvestigations article points out, the editors never explain how the mistakes happened or offer names of the anonymous sources who deceived “them and the public over months and years.”

Helderman and Hamberger are two of the dozen-plus reporters who now share the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction---I mean, for Reporting. Neither WAPO or the NYT has given any indication that they might return the award, even though, as Mate points out, “the Post’s and the Times’ reporting has the same problem as the Steele document that these same outlets are now distancing themselves from: a reliance on anonymous, deceptive, and almost certainly partisan sources for claims that proved to be false.” (Note: I’d remove the “almost” –- the sources were certainly partisan.)

It took seemingly forever for WAPO to address this at all, as the “dossier” has been discredited since April 2019, when Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his FBI team failed to verify any of its contents. That didn’t matter; most of the media still aggressively pushed the Trump-Russia narrative. Some, like David Corn, will never really give it up.

After BuzzFeed published the “dossier,” WAPO and the NYT were joined by other outlets in a media frenzy. Mate cites particularly outrageous stories that ran in the New Yorker (a “fawning” profile of Steele), McClatchy (Mueller had "evidence" Trump attorney Michael Cohen had been to Prague), and The Guardian (Paul Manafort met with Julian Assange in London’s Ecuadorian embassy). BuzzFeed stayed in the act, too, with a false story that Trump had instructed Cohen to lie to Congress. All fake, fake, fake.

To add juice to the argument that WAPO and the NYT should return their Pulitzer, Mate documents five specific stories “containing false or misleading claims, and thereby due for retraction or correction, that were either among the Post and Times’ winning entries, or other work of reporters who shared that prize.” These outright falsehoods can be shown to be wrong with information that has “long been in the public domain,” he says.

FALSEHOOD #1: Michael Flynn discussed sanctions with Russia and lied about it. We’ve covered the real story in detail here, throughout Flynn’s long ordeal of personal destruction. WAPO did not tell the truth in February of 2017 when they added their own spin and plenty of mind-reading to their report on Flynn’s phone call with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak. Both WAPO and the NYT continued the deception in articles from May of 2020 about the transcripts.

FALSEHOOD #2: Trump officials had repeated contacts with Russian officials. This fake story, written by three members of the NYT Pulitzer-winning team, came out the day after Flynn resigned as national security adviser in February of 2017. Debunked.

FALSEHOOD #3: George Papadopoulos’ “night of heavy drinking” with Australian envoy Alexander Downer in which he supposedly said the Russians had “dirt” on Hillary. This fake story was reported in December of 2017, a couple of months after it was revealed that Marc Elias of the Clinton-funded law firm Perkins Coie paid for the “dossier.” (Yes, this was uncovered that soon, by House Republicans led by Devin Nunes.) Their characterization of this conversation turned out to be false, as documented by declassified FBI recordings.

FALSEHOOD #4: Russia’s “sweeping interference campaign” posed a national security threat. Read the details in Mate’s article and you will see this story was a complete crock. To be fair, Mueller sensationalized this, too, as the body of his report fails miserably to live up to the headline.

FALSEHOOD #5: The DOJ never fully examined Trump’s ties to Russia. Reporters tried to “explain” why Mueller hadn’t found anything on Trump by saying Attorney General Barr and deputy AG Rod Rosenstein had handcuffed him. More fakeness. Even Peter Strzok later contradicted this.

Caution: reading through Mate’s article will raise your blood pressure, with example after example of this steaming load of Pulitzer-winning “journalism.” This utter waste of the public’s and the government’s time was created out of essentially nothing to damage Trump and his presidency as much as possible. It was all made up.

So, New York Times and Washington Post: GIVE THE PULITZER BACK NOW.

We’ve received many letters in response to yesterday's story on the Salvation Army. (A follow-up story ran today.) Here are few that called out for responses.

From Larry (excerpt):

Love your show and your website, have for a long time. Just want to express a concern about people falling in the trap of using racist terms that are promoted by the left. You used one of the most racist terms in your article when you said " people of color." ...White is a color, it's just not one the racist democrats like.

It's just one of many things that non-Democrats fall prey to because they don't stop to think about a word before they just accept it and start using it.

As I said, we've always thought you were, and still are, one of the smartest people in the public eye that speaks for Conservatives and Christians. Best wishes.

From the Gov:

Thanks for writing, Larry, and for your kind words. We’re really sensitive to the language and how leftists try to shape it, and are glad to see you are, too. Keep in mind that commentaries include quotations, and these are run in quotation marks exactly as they were originally stated. The commentary you refer to included lengthy excerpts from a CRT-based publication, and that’s the term they used. I wouldn’t soften or censor what someone else said unless it was vulgar or otherwise over-the-line offensive.

We all have different ideas on how to use language respectfully to refer to race, and it continues to evolve. Personally, I’m baffled as to why leftists like the abbreviation “POC” for “people of color,” because it also stands for something offensive. But, again, I and my staff didn't use either of these; we were just quoting someone else.

From Jane (excerpt):

I am of heavy Irish descent. In fact I am Irish Catholic, which is amongst the Irish the most discriminated against, including by our own government (my grandfather was only allowed to work for the government if he professed himself to be an orange man)...I guess the existence of Irish slaves in the colonies (who were considered to be less valuable than the black slaves) is an inconvenient truth to yet another position that the Democrats take in order to control people. So, are there any non-woke charities out there that we can donate gently used items to?

From the Gov:

Thank you, Jane, for a history lesson that most people never receive. This is why it does no good for some groups to do a personal accounting of the accumulated grievances that were done to their ancestors. An ideology based on past victimhood poisons the present. As for non-woke charities, I’m sure there are still quite a few, and it’s always good to start close to home.

From Dale:

I am really disappointed that Huckabee would write something that can be damaging to the Salvation Army. They have already recanted and removed those Guides which could be wrongly construed. I will be canceling my daily Huckabee Newsletter because of this!!

From the Gov:

Dale, I hope you’ll stay. Actually, if you see the update today, the SA is “reviewing” those guides but has not recanted. Perhaps they will, and I’ll update the story if they do. But so far, they’ve blamed readers for believing they’ve promoted damaging ideas they actually HAVE promoted. This poison has turned some once-laudable organizations into something very different in 2021.

I did not specifically call for a boycott of the SA, and will not. But it would be a failure on my part not to report on what’s happening to major charities in the U.S. That’s the only way they’re going to be brought back to sanity.

Finally, this from Duncan:

News flash, woke people!!! EVERYONE has 'unconscious bias' about someone or something. If you claim to be completely conscious you better notify the Dalai Llama. He might have some advice for you to help you cope with total enlightenment.

It does behoove all of us to be aware of the possibility that we may be unaware of our faults. On the other hand, let's not let fear(s) paralyze us to living and growing. The most simple and central tenant of Christianity, ‘Treat thy neighbor as you would be treated,' pretty much says it all.

Thanks Governor for your ongoing clear common-sense publications. Keep it going!

From the Gov:

Thanks, Duncan. You have indeed said it all, so you get the last word.


"Infrastructure"

December 1, 2021

I’ve repeatedly warned readers not to fall for the idea that the $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill was actually going to buy $1.2 trillion worth of roads, bridges and airport improvements (hence our habitual use of quotation marks around “infrastructure.”) That’s partly because only a fraction of the money goes to things that any sane person would consider to be actual infrastructure (Democrats only win arguments by redefining words, in this case turning “government giveaway programs” into “human infrastructure.”) But it’s also because Democrats, in thrall to environmentalist donors, have created so many laws that make it darn near impossible to build a new road, highway, dam or any other major construction project.

We went through the same thing under Obama. Remember the promise that spending nearly a trillion tax dollars would create thousands of “shovel-ready jobs?” Then we discovered that it took a 10-year environmental impact study just to get permits to buy a shovel. Even Obama himself admitted that he found out there were no “shovel-ready jobs.”

Well, one of the hallmarks of modern liberals is that they never learn from prior mistakes. So now we have a freshly-signed $1.2 trillion “infrastructure” bill, and the New York Times, which pushed hard for passage, has suddenly realized that it probably won’t actually build or fix very much infrastructure.

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/business/joseph-vazquez/2021/11/29/shocker-nyt-throws-cold-water-bidens-massive

The Times actually printed an analysis by independent journalist Ralph Vartabadian in which he found that the bill “carries enormous risks that the projects will face the same kind of cost, schedule and technical problems that have hobbled ambitious efforts from New York to Seattle, delaying benefits to the public and driving up the price tag that taxpayers ultimately will bear.”

It would have been nice if the Times had looked that closely at the bill before it was passed with their support and we taxpayers got stuck with the tab. But even if it never results in a new road or bridge, it will accomplish its actual goals of (A.) giving Biden a legislative “win,” (B.) expanding government size and control, and (C.) showering money on Democrat donors and voting blocs.

In short, the Times will never learn because keeping their readers willfully ignorant until it’s too late advances the left’s political agenda. But the rest of us can learn from this never to pay attention to the New York Times.

Fauci faces the crowd

November 30, 2021

Sunday on “Face the Nation,” I think Dr. Anthony Fauci might have finally reached his “A Face in the Crowd” moment. In that classic movie, Andy Griffith plays a “man of the people” drunk on his own power who falls from public grace after an open microphone reveals what an arrogant, power-mad demagogue he really is. In Fauci’s case, he knew the mic was on, he (as always) sought out the camera, but he still revealed in shockingly clear terms that he’s suffering from a terminal case of galloping egomania.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rand-paul-blasts-fauci-astounding-alarming-represent-science

When asked about the justifiable criticism of him by such Senators as Ted Cruz and Rand Paul for denying under oath that his NIH funded gain-of-function research when it was later revealed that it had, Fauci scoffed that it was just “noise.” As for Cruz pointing out that lying to Congress is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, Fauci laughed and asked, "What happened on January 6th, Senator?

For the record, Ted Cruz had nothing to do with January 6th, but the lies about gain-of-function research came directly from Dr. Fauci’s mouth. And he wasn’t wearing three masks at the time, so we all heard it clearly.

But then came the really telling moment, when Fauci tried to dismiss any criticism of him as invalid by declaring, “They’re really criticizing science, because I represent science. They’re dangerous.”

Cruz responded bluntly, blasting Fauci not only for being an "unelected technocrat who has distorted science and facts in order to exercise authoritarian control over millions of Americans" and for “ad hominem insults parroting Democratic talking points,” but also for his jaw-dropping hubris in declaring that any questioning of him is dangerous because he is the living embodiment of “science.” As I’ve had to remind people countless times over recent years, science is the process of asking questions and developing evidence that points to the truth, even if it disproves what everyone believed up to that point. This is why anyone who says, “The science is settled!” is actually admitting that they don’t know jack squat about what science is.

But now, we all know what science is. Dr. Fauci is “Science!” If he says it, it cannot be questioned! Too bad there’s no vaccine to prevent his head from swelling up bigger than a Macy’s Parade balloon. Frankly, I’m at the point where I’d put more faith in Mr. Wizard than in Dr. “Science.”

I’ll give the last word to Sen. Paul, who unlike Fauci is a doctor who’s actually treated patients:

"It’s astounding and alarming that a public health bureaucrat would even think to claim such a thing, especially one who has worked so hard to ignore the science of natural immunity."

Why are liberal media outlets outrageously claiming that “a car” drove into the Waukesha Christmas parade, killing six people and injuring 62 more, when we all know that it was (“allegedly”) a leftist career criminal who was out on $1,000 bail after being charged with even more heinous crimes, including running over his girlfriend with that exact same “car”? Or is the car a recidivist, too?

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/488120/

Miranda Divine at the New York Post has a must-read article on why these media outlets are trying to downplay and memory-hole this atrocity, even as they push for life sentences for Trump supporters. It’s because, as she says, the stark truth of this massacre threatens the very core of their insanely misguided “criminal justice reforms” that are allowing career criminals to be turned back out into the streets to prey on the public again and again and again.

https://nypost.com/2021/11/24/liberal-media-ignores-waukesha-christmas-parade-horror-devine

Milwaukee County D.A. John Chisholm fatuously claims to be investigating how the suspect got such a low bail amount, when that’s been his crusade for years. All that matters is racial equity of outcomes, not punishment commensurate with the crimes. And Chisholm can’t even claim that he was too stupid to see this coming. In an astounding 2007 interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, he said this:

“Is there going to be an individual I divert, or I put into [a] treatment program, who’s going to go out and kill somebody? You bet. Guaranteed. It’s guaranteed to happen.”

But he claimed that the guaranteed death of an innocent or two was worth it in the name of justice reform. He just didn’t foresee that one of them would go on a killing spree. It’s a lot easier to turn a blind eye and sweep it under the rug when the needless deaths are spaced out, one at a time. But now, the number of crime victims has reached critical mass. Let’s hope the patience of the public for tolerating their enablers in government has also reached critical mass.

Actor Matthew McConaughey ended speculation Sunday by announcing that he’s decided not to run for Governor of Texas. He said, "As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvalde, Texas, it never occurred to me that I would one day be considered for political leadership. It's a humbling and inspiring path to ponder. It is also a path that I am choosing not to take at this moment."

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/matthew-mcconaughey-rules-out-run-public-office-texas

Even though a recent poll showed him as the frontrunner against both incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Harold Stassen of our time, Democrat “Beto” O’Rourke, I can certainly understand why Matthew wouldn’t want to give up being a successful and beloved movie star to take on the heavy work and brickbats of being a Governor (salary in Texas: $153,750.)

Polls can be deceiving, too. At this early stage, all the respondents know is the cool guy from the movies. But the glamor disappears fast once you get into the 24-hour colonoscopy of running for office. You have to take positions on issues that some people will strongly disagree with (and if you don’t, you’re criticized for that, too.) Matthew has some views that are conservative and some that are liberal, which means he’d face attacks from both sides.

I’ve read his recent book, “Green Lights,” and was impressed. Even more so when I interviewed him on TBN.

https://youtu.be/xOe-ZhFKunY

He seems to be a rare celebrity who has his head screwed on straight, and maybe this decision on staying out of politics is just more proof of that.

In the meantime, it’s bad news for Democrats, for whom a wild card McConaughey candidacy was their best shot at unseating a Republican Governor in 2022. But they still have “Beto,” and it’s reported that fools with money (I’m assuming from outside Texas) have already pumped $2 million into his latest quixotic run. That’s money that won’t be going to Democrats who have a chance of winning, so it’s “Awright, awright, awright” with me.

Hopefully you have enjoyed a great Thanksgiving with your family and you’re trying to figure out how to make best use of the leftover turkey. 

Remember last year at this time, Dr. Fauci was telling us not to gather in groups of more than 8 or 10 and better to just eat by yourself while wearing 2 or 3 masks. Not many of us did that last year, and probably no one paid any attention to that kind of stuff this year. Most people by now have either had a vaccination or have had Covid and have natural antibodies. I just can’t imagine that many people worried about what some big-government cosmic kill-joys had to say about enjoying Thanksgiving with your families.

Sadly, some people from the cancel culture left didn’t enjoy a Thanksgiving this year. To begin with, they think the Pilgrims were a bunch of imperialist racists who stole the land, and whose Puritan religious views were bigoted because their beliefs came right out of the Bible. I feel sad for the irreligious left, as they probably gathered in groups of 3 eating tofu, raw radishes, and baked carrots.

This uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving is one of the most important to me. It’s a reminder that our nation was started by people who sought religious liberty and the freedom to worship God. They risked their very lives to come to a country they didn’t know to try and make a better life for their children. They weren’t perfect, but after some failed attempts at what we’d call socialism today, in which they tried communal living, they resorted to capitalism and allowed families to own land and reap the benefits and rewards of their labor. The result was that the greatest and free-est nation in the history of the world was birthed, and in a really short period of time that colony grew into what would become the United States of America and would rapidly become the most powerful and prosperous nation in the history of civilization. We are rare in that people from all ethnicities, colors, religions, and races make up America. And all are equally endowed by their Creator with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That alone is plenty of reason to celebrate this holiday and to take time out to offer a sincere prayer of thanks for this God-blessed land.

I have much to be thankful for. A devoted wife. Three grown children. Seven truly extraordinary grandchildren. Lots of friends. A roof over my head. Food on the table, even if thanks to Joe Biden and Congress it costs a lot more this year. And because gasoline was so much more expensive this year, most of us stayed close to home and that was good too.

I hope you made your list of reasons to be thankful as well. And that you expressed your thanks to God, from whom ALL blessings flow!

Trigger warning for leftists: This commentary freely uses the terms “woke” and “woke-ism,” words you introduced yourselves as part of your attempt to control the language and, now that we use it pejoratively, criticize us for using. If this bothers you, so much the better. Curl up with some hot cocoa with mini-marshmallows and you’ll be fine.

…………..

The spirit of Christmas giving has been tarnished a bit this season with the revelation that the Salvation Army has published a new course of study for Salvationists called “Let’s Talk About Racism” --- gosh, we just never talk about racism any more, do we? --- that urges members to actively confront Christianity’s historic racism. National Review has details.

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/salvation-army-peddles-critical-race-theory-urges-members-to-confront-their-racism/

On the positive side, it does say this activity is for Salvationists “who choose to participate.” And it does say there are “no correct answers,” just the will to have “an authentic conversation,” prayerfully, and open to the Holy Spirit. You’re even allowed to disagree. But there’s a glossary of terms so you use the correct language when you do.

The main course book has a more concise companion document, “The Study Guide On Racism”; both were created by the Salvation Army’s International Social Justice Commission. They talk about unity and Scripture but still manage to parrot Ibram X. Kendi’s “anti-racist” view that white people carry “unconscious bias.” It reads, “The subtle nature of racism is such that people who are not consciously racist easily function with the privileges, empowerment and benefits of dominant ethnicity, thus unintentionally perpetuating injustice.”

The “Let’s Talk About Racism” book is the more in-depth of the two, with that exhaustive glossary of terms. We all know it’s very important to use the right vocabulary, at least until “progressives” decide to change it. (For clarification on what “anti-racism” is about, I recommend checking out this glossary.) For example, “structural racism...is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to White people resulting in disadvantages to [blacks].” “Racist policy” is “any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups.” That refers to the anti-racist concept of “equity,” meaning equal outcomes for all groups. The implication: If there is not an equal outcome among groups, the policy must be racist.

Also, it defines racism so that only white people can be racist. Racism is “the prejudiced treatment, stereotyping, or discrimination of POC [people of color] on the basis of race. It is the “system of social advantage” based on a hierarchy of skin color that it describes as lightest on top and working down through darker shades. “What has not changed is that racial groups are placed into a hierarchy,” it says, “with White or lighter-skinned people at the top.”

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/e0c074e3-39db-4b09-a6ea-aa5bdb6ecaa6_Let%2527s%2520Talk%2520About...%2520Racism%2520COMPLETE%2520SET.pdf

You’d think the solution to this hierarchy would be to adopt what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said about judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. But no, that’s not it. Being colorblind “ignores the discrimination our Black and Brown brothers and sisters face and does not allow us to address racism properly.” Also, “Color-blindedness is often dangerous because while we may not claim to see color, we don’t address the race-based stereotypes of beauty, fame and intelligence which often support a supremacist ideology.” Sigh.

According to this study, there's no genetic basis for race at all. “Race is a social construct designed by humanity,” it says.

Here’s a link to the shorter, ten-page guide.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cache.salvationarmy.org/456ab604-ccb8-430e-af65-f75e04f223f5_Racism+Study+Guide.pdf

Much of what’s in this guide is very good. There’s a lot about unity. On the first page, called “The Salvation Army International Positional Statement on Racism,” it “denounces racism in all its forms.” But the SA apparently is not seeing what millions of concerned Christian parents do: that some of the “anti-racist” principles espoused here are, in themselves, racist.

The guide wisely says, “Racism is fundamentally incompatible with the Christian conviction that all people are made in the image of God and are equal in value. The Salvation Army believes that the world is enriched by a diversity of cultures and ethnicities.”

And the “Theological Framework” makes some valuable points about the spread of Christianity in the New Testament and the “global multi-ethnic reconciliation plan of God.” But, really, if it’s true that “in some mysterious way we shall retain our ethnic identities in heaven,” as this guidebook says, we hope the proponents of “anti-racism” will finally --- at long last --- look to their better angels and stop their eternal “harping” about race.

Oh, and the Salvation Army isn't the only charitable organization embracing Critical Race Theory. Goodwill industries is doing this as well.

Goodwill Embraces Critical Race Theory, Hires “Director of Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion”

UPDATE: In breaking news, the Salvation Army has said they will "review" their racism guides. RedState.com has insightful commentary.

https://redstate.com/sister-toldjah/2021/11/28/in-a-victory-for-sanity-salvation-army-kinda-sorta-walks-back-woke-racism-guides-n483054

Steve Hilton, on his Sunday FOX News show “The Next Revolution,” had a segment about “Woke-ism” in general –- which, of course, includes Critical Race Theory –- now that seemingly everybody’s woke: the Democrat Party, the media, corporate America and even classroom teachers and local school boards. He explained that this authoritarian ideology dates from 1920s Germany –- The Frankfort School of Marxist philosophy –- as a strategy to get the oppressed proletariats to rise up and throw off their capitalist masters, as they had thus far failed to do. These Marxists decided that three things were in the way and had to be destroyed: faith, family and culture.

“Woke-ism” targets all three. In fact, Hilton’s guest Michael Shellenberger, in an article on Substack.com, argues that it, in itself, is a religion, as it's based on “a whole series of mythological and supernatural beliefs...” Sadly, it can take the place of actual religion, which is to say, the worship of God.

For example, climate change. Shellenberger argues the belief that the world is coming to an end is a religious idea. It’s not based in science, but in faith.

In his book SAN FRANSICKO, he writes about something that CRT proponents might want to examine: “the idea that people that are victims of ‘the system’ are sacred.” For example, there’s enormous concern for black Americans shot by police but relatively little for the 30-times-greater number of blacks who are killed by other black citizens in their neighborhoods.

I would add that the assertion in the Salvation Army guide that race has no genetic basis and is merely a social construct is another example. The idea that gender is not biological is yet another.

This type of thinking isn’t rational. So when we try to counter it with a rational argument, the conversation goes nowhere.

“These are supernatural views,” Shellenberger says, “that accompany the new morality of victim ideology.” But he thinks we’ll see woke-ism come to an end, because there are unfortunate consequences from this ideology, such as the dramatic rise in crime. He thinks “reality will intrude on woke religion,” and that most Americans “really just want to be equal citizens under the law.” But for now, the Religion Of Wokeness is making problems of racism and injustice MORE difficult to solve.

This is a fascinating read, offering a point of view on victimology that the Salvation Army should not leave out of its “authentic conversations,” but probably will.

https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/why-wokeism-is-a-religion

Friday, stock markets tanked hard amid fears of more travel restrictions and lockdowns after a new COVID-19 variant was found in South Africa. It’s also popped up in Belgium, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel, but not in the US yet.

https://www.foxnews.com/health/covid-19-omicron-variant-no-cases-identified-yet-in-us-cdc

It’s been dubbed the Omicron variant (interestingly, the next letter in the Greek alphabet after the recent Nu variant is “Xi,” but since that’s also the name of the President of China, I guess it would be too politically incorrect to say that the China virus now has a Xi variant.)

Despite the panic mongers, there’s as yet no evidence that this variant is any more dangerous than what’s already circulating, or that it won’t be stopped by current vaccines and natural immunity. And Novavax says it’s already got a vaccine in trials that could be ready for manufacture in a few weeks.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novavax-testing-vaccine-that-targets-new-covid-19-variant-2021-11-26/

This isn’t even unexpected: all viruses mutate as the potential host population dwindles; they usually become more transmissible but less dangerous. And South Africa has a very low vaccination rate, so this doesn’t mean the Xi (sorry, Omicron) variant can evade the vaccines. It hasn’t even been determined yet if this strain was responsible for the recent leap in cases in South Africa. Yahoo News has a good article explaining what we know about it so far, and considering all the hysteria, we actually know surprisingly little for certain.

https://news.yahoo.com/explainer-covid-variant-south-africa-111307372.html

Sure, this could be a new and terrifying threat, or it could be a last gasp of this disease that peters out in a couple of weeks. Pardon me if I decline to panic because I’ve lived through enough panics from our politicians and “health experts” who didn’t really understand what they were dealing with and who wanted to impose draconian policies that only made matters worse. For the first time in history, they quarantined the healthy while exposing the vulnerable to the disease in nursing homes; forced people to stay indoors (where the disease spreads easiest); and arguably caused more damage to more people’s mental, physical and economic health than the disease did.

In response to the new variant, President Biden met for a whole half hour Friday with his top medical advisors, who still include Dr. Anthony Fauci for some reason. I was willing to defer to Dr. Fauci early on, but he’s contradicted himself, pushed false narratives and put self-aggrandizement ahead of public safety too many times. I don’t understand why many people still think his prescriptions are handed down from Mt. Sinai on stone tablets. Our health officials and media have attacked, censored and tried to de-license actual doctors who are in the field treating COVID patients if what they report contradicts St. Fauci, a DC health bureaucrat who hasn’t treated a patient since he completed his residency in 1968.

And speaking of people who’ve been in Washington too long, President “I Will Shut Down The Virus,” not travel or the economy, announced that he was placing new travel restrictions on South Africa.

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-announces-new-travel-restrictions-response-new-covid-variant/

Funny how Trump’s shutting down travel from China was racism, but Biden shutting down travel from the predominantly black nation of South Africa is just prudent health policy.

Please note that I’m not saying he shouldn’t shut down travel from South Africa. I’m just saying that while he’s doing it, he should also publicly apologize to Trump for slandering him and being a big hypocrite. Since he also pushed for “global vaccination” without thanking Trump for overseeing the rapid development of vaccines he badmouthed before he started taking credit for them, he might throw in an apology for that, too. (This is why I couldn’t be a modern Democrat: my memory stretches back farther than yesterday.)

Unfortunately, hypocrisy, dishonesty and political opportunism are three Washington epidemics for which we’ve never been able to find a vaccine.

"Kamikaze Democrats"

November 28, 2021

Last week, the Wall Street Journal editorial board published a great op-ed that coined the term “kamikaze Democrats” to describe House Democrats who let Nancy Pelosi bully them into voting for a massive, destructive, inflationary boondoggle bill that can’t even muster enough support to pass a Democrat Senate. The WSJ predicts that, just as she did with Obamacare, Pelosi has set up her fellow party members for slaughter in the next election.

That editorial was behind a paywall, but now you can read it at the NRCC’s website. And you should.

https://www.nrcc.org/2021/11/23/wsj-the-kamikaze-democrats/

I expect Democrats to cry that “kamikaze Democrats” is racist in a futile attempt to keep that perfect term from sticking.

Speaking of Nancy Pelosi, her office denied a claim that she and her husband bought a $25 million mansion in Florida. But if that bill dies in the Senate, and the tax cuts for blue state millionaires die with it, she might want to look hard at moving to Florida. After all, everyone else in San Francisco who can afford a U-Haul truck is moving to either Florida or Texas, and she definitely wouldn’t fit in in Texas.

As a big fan of Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook (I run the indie label, Eclectus Records, that releases my wife, Laura Ainsworth’s, retro jazz albums), like many, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the death Friday of legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim at 91.

https://variety.com/2021/legit/news/stephen-sondheim-dead-sweeney-todd-1235120388/

It’s hard to imagine being shocked to hear that someone died at 91, but Sondheim seemed both ageless and timeless. He’d been writing landmark musicals longer than many of us have been alive, and it seemed as if he would always be here and working on a new show.

An abused child of wealthy divorced parents, he wrote his first musical in prep school in the early ‘40s. His best friend’s dad, Oscar Hammerstein II, became his surrogate father and mentor, and Sondheim worked as an assistant on the original productions of “South Pacific” and “The King And I.” Frustrated that the powers on Broadway wouldn’t let him write both words and music, he started out by writing the lyrics to such classic shows as “West Side Story” and “Gypsy.”

He finally got to create an entire score in 1962, for “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” with its rousing opener, “Comedy Tonight!” It’s regularly revived and is still his most profitable show. He went on to create a string of ground-breaking musicals that forged new, sometimes uncomfortable ground for Broadway, but opened the genre up to more serious, adult themes. It’s ironic that Cameron Mackintosh, producer of such touristy spectacles as “Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats” and “Miss Saigon,” is quoted praising him in his obituary, since his shows were seen as the antithesis of everything Sondheim stood for.

Some were hits, like “Follies;” “Company,” (which yielded the standards “Being Alive” and “The Ladies Who Lunch”); the Ingmar Bergman adaptation “A Little Night Music” (“Send In The Clowns” became one of the most-recorded songs of all time); “Into The Woods,” his version of classic fairy tales that follows the characters beyond “happily ever after,” and whose great score includes the gorgeous “No One Is Alone” (it became an all-star Disney movie, but the original Broadway cast version filmed for PBS is far better and viewable on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kqCsQCsinK4); and the dark masterpiece “Sweeney Todd.”

Some were just too esoteric for Broadway, like “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Assassins,” “Passion,” and “Pacific Overtures” (ten Tony nominations, closed in six months.) “Sunday in the Park with George” ran for over 600 performances but still lost money. But their original cast albums are considered works of genius and include many great songs that will keep cabaret performers in material for years to come.

Sondheim was the recipient of virtually every honor the performing arts world can bestow, some of them many times over, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Since you depend on me to give you the trivia other obits overlook, here are three things you might not know that Stephen Sondheim did:

His love of intricate wordplay wasn’t limited to the tongue-twisting lyrics of songs like “I’m Not Getting Married Today” or “Your Fault.” He earned a little money early in his career by writing 11 episodes of the witty early ‘50s sitcom, “Topper.” After pocketing the paychecks, he immediately left Hollywood and fled back to New York.

His love of puzzles and murder mystery games inspired him to write the 1973 murder mystery movie “The Last of Shiela” with “Psycho” star Anthony Perkins.

And his smoldering faux-1940s torch song “Sooner Or Later” was definitely the highlight of Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy” movie. Here’s Madonna singing it at the Oscars in 1991 (it won for Best Original Song) and proving that she cleaned up real good when she wanted to: https://youtu.be/8bgNyaAz1jg

If you’re a theater nerd and would like to dig deeper into Sondheim’s creative process, check out the documentaries “Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened,” about the failed original production of “Merrily We Roll Along,” and “Original Cast Album: Company,” about the tortured recording of that classic LP under Sondheim’s perfectionist oversight. At one point, the engineer aptly says, “‘You Could Drive A Person Crazy,’ take ten.” (It was parodied on the TV series “Documentary Now” as “Original Cast Album: Co-op.”)

When a terrible fire engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2019, many people were rightly outraged over politicians declaring this as an opportunity to “reimagine” the historic landmark. There were horrible “conceptual” drawings of Notre Dame being rebuilt into a modern glass and steel monstrosity instead of the transcendent beauty of its medieval French Gothic architecture.

Well, Kim Hirsch at the Victory Girls blog reports that there’s good news and bad news. The restoration work is advancing, and most of it is intended to painstakingly restore the original structure. The bad news: some parts are being changed to include politically correct modern themes such as multi-culturalism and environmentalism, and in a style that’s being compared to Disney’s Epcot Center.

https://victorygirlsblog.com/notre-dame-cathedral-restoration-is-going-woke/

Incredibly, the areas getting these inappropriate updates were parts of the Cathedral that suffered the least fire damage and would have been the easiest to restore to their original condition. But restoring a 900-year-old cathedral whose creators intended it only to glorify God and lead people to Christ must take a backseat to leading people to the political causes that constitute the new religion of the left.

Maybe the current climate activist Pope believes that mixing PC causes with religion will draw people to Christ, but there’s not a very successful track record of that. Generally speaking, the closer a church hews to the Bible, the more likely it is to have a growing congregation, and the opposite is true for those who embrace secular views and liberal political causes.

John Hinderaker of the Powerline blog has a good example: his own church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/11/get-woke-empty-the-pews.php

In a post titled, “Get Woke, Empty the Pews,” Hinderaker notes that as the ELCA has become more and more liberal, its membership has shrunk from over 5 million in 1988 to 3.3 million today, and falling. And it’s doubtful that a recent pastoral letter from a presiding bishop that condemned the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal and claimed that the “idols of our society” are “guns, violence and white supremacy” will reverse that trend.

I like to believe that most people in our society still believe in the Ten Commandments, which means they have no other gods before the Lord and they make no idols or graven images. Those are, after all, the first two. And I think the churches that are growing by bringing more people to Christ are the ones that remain aware of that.

Black Friday

November 26, 2021

Happy Black Friday, America! Although thanks to the Internet and now month-long Black Friday deals, Black Friday is no longer stirring as much controversy as it did when it first started encroaching on Thursday night and pulling people away from their family Thanksgiving dinners. Black Friday has expanded so much that most of the deals were sold out by Wednesday. But don’t worry, we still have Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday to come. And after that, the Christmas shopping season really begins.

Of course, this year, there might be slim pickings on some hot items, due to the supply chain mess. My suggestion is that you give the gift of books, DVDs and music from the artists, writers and comedians who dare to buck cancel culture by speaking their minds or even coming on my TBN show. Last year, we compiled an Entertainment Gift Guide where you could find great gifts from brave entertainers who refuse to toe the leftist line. We're working on a 2021 updated version that will be coming your way soon, and I hope you’ll patronize these artists, comics and writers. You help them out, you get great entertainment, Hollywood socialists don’t get your money, and they have plenty of product they’re happy to ship straight to you because it’s not sitting on a ship from China, waiting to be unloaded. Everyone wins!

Back to Black Friday: I’m sure you’re all still enjoying that warm drowsiness from all the food, and I don’t want to spoil that by writing about politics. That can wait until tomorrow. Instead, I’d like to talk about something that doesn't change with the passing headlines. It's the greatest gift that a parent can give to a child: the gift of character. As parents are discovering to their shock how thoroughly leftists have infiltrated schools and are attempting to warp their children’s characters, many parents have suddenly realized just how important it is to take a stand to protect their children’s character from pernicious influences. And no, that doesn't make you a domestic terrorist.

During this season of going on safari for holiday bargains, it’s easy to let the thrill of the hunt and the lure of saving a few bucks on the latest gadgets override our good manners and consideration for others. But if you have character, that’s not a problem.

Where does character come from? It’s rooted in parents teaching their kids integrity and respect for others. And it may not be politically correct to say so, but kids need to be disciplined according to traditional, agreed-upon standards.

It seems to have become a sad Black Friday tradition to see news stories of people so crazed to get at bargains that they commit violence against each other. In some places, you can’t tell if you’re at a Black Friday sale or an Antifa riot/looting. A worker was actually trampled to death once at a New York Walmart. The crowd even trampled other workers who were trying to help him; and when told the store was being closed because of the death, they shouted curses and just kept shopping.

If you could turn back the clock a decade or two, I'll bet you would find most of those shoppers as kids, running wild, bullying other kids, sassing their elders...in other words, having no boundaries and being taught no consideration for others. If you'd said anything to their parents then, they might've replied, "We don't want to stifle their creativity." Or "We don't want to impose our standards on our kids. Let them figure out for themselves what feels right to them." There are thousands of strips of concrete in every city. Imagine what would happen if every airline pilot made a personal decision to land on whatever patch of concrete “feels right” to land on.

Instead of admitting that their kids’ behavior was objectively wrong, those parents might've tried to rationalize it as being “free-spirited” or needing a Ritalin prescription. Or most likely, they would've just cursed and punched you for daring to question their parenting.

Children may act as if they resent discipline, but they not only need it, most secretly crave it. They need parents to instill the Golden Rule and to teach them that there are certain lines we all must stay within, or else society falls apart. That’s a lesson we’re seeing with frightening clarity recently, with the rise of radical groups who think that laws don’t apply to them and that the First Amendment somehow gives them the right to bully and intimidate others into silence. They think there are countless boundaries and restrictions that apply to other people, but none to them. Whatever feels right to them, they just do, even violence and vandalism.

We live in a time when mass media and social media cause shifts in standards for language or behavior to spread almost instantly. Suddenly, both living and historic figures are being condemned for not measuring up to some PC behavior rule that didn’t even exist before last Tuesday (are you old enough to remember ‘way back to when it wasn’t considered hateful, bigoted, intolerant transphobia to object to a middle-aged man walking into the ladies’ bathroom when your 13-year-old daughter was in there?)

Just days before Thanksgiving, a statue of Thomas Jefferson that had been in the New York City Council Chamber since 1915 was removed because Jefferson no longer measures up to the high standards of such giants of public service as Bill DeBlasio and the current NYC Council (personally, I suspect that the statue of Jefferson requested its own removal from that skunks’ den.)

We should stop constantly judging the past by ever-shifting standards of the moment. As British author L.P. Hartley said, “The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” The only fair way to judge anyone, past or present, is by an immovable moral standard that’s not subject to the whims of changing fads and opinions. To do that, children have to be taught such standards. Standards such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Take responsibility for your own actions. Try to keep your head even when everyone around you is losing theirs. These are things that were true centuries ago, they’re true today, and they’ll be true centuries from now.

I once had the importance of such solid guideposts brought to my attention in a way I will never forget. In 1997, Arkansas was struck by a devastating tornado. As Governor, I was visiting one of the worst-hit towns when State Rep. Martha Shoffner said she had to show me something. She took me to a courthouse whose roof was completely gone. Inside was a museum in which everything had been blown away or destroyed…except for one thing. Still hanging on the wall was my official Governor's photo. It hadn’t broken or fallen off. It wasn't even askew. I took it as a sobering reminder that no matter what disaster might befall our state, it was the Governor’s responsibility to remain steady as a rock and see everyone through.

The thought occurred to me then that we can't keep storms out of our kids' lives, and we can't teach them to hide from storms. We also can’t let them go on believing that if they scream loudly enough, the storms will give in and go away. All we can do is give them a strong enough foundation so that when life’s storms inevitably come, they'll be prepared to ride them out with a level head and a steady hand.

Here’s wishing you a safe and courteous shopping season and a happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Guilty Verdicts

November 26, 2021

Wednesday afternoon, a jury returned guilty verdicts on nearly all charges, including felony murder and aggravated assault, against Travis McMichael, his father Gregory and neighbor William Bryan. The three white men were accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a young unarmed black man, near Brunswick, Georgia. They had spotted Arbery running past their houses and assumed he was fleeing from committing a burglary, although no evidence ever arose to prove he’d committed any crimes. They chased him, confronted him, and Travis shot him with a shotgun. He also reportedly used a racial epithet, which earned him an extra conviction for malice murder.

This link from Fox News has continually updated information on the case, which had officials on edge due to fears of rioting if they’d been acquitted. Which, it is important to remind people who constantly attack the court system as racist, they were not.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/ahmaud-arbery-trial-jury-deliberations-wednesday

This is the third high-profile murder verdict in less than a week, all in cases that involved charges of racist courts. Yet in this one, the white men who murdered a black man were found guilty. In the Andrew Coffee case, a black man who shot white police officers who staged a surprise late night raid of his home was acquitted on self-defense grounds. And in the Kyle Rittenhouse case, a white teenager who shot three white men who were attacking him was also acquitted on self-defense charges, which many ascribed to racism for unclear reasons. Some media outlets even mistakenly thought Rittenhouse's attackers were black.

I don’t know what conclusion we’re supposed to draw from all these verdicts about the American court system, but if juries are making their decisions based solely on race, they don’t seem very consistent about it. Here's a wild thought: maybe most jurors take their responsibilities seriously and base their decisions on the testimony and the evidence. And if that doesn't mesh with the verdicts of the media or random people on Twitter, maybe it's because the jury actually knows more about the case than they do.

One of the many things that separate humans from animals is that we are supposedly capable of learning from the mistakes of others. Going by that yardstick, I have to assume that leftist DA’s who insist on letting criminals out of jail over and over, even as it continues to yield tragic results all around them, are about as smart as chimps in suits. Now, it's already happened again.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-city-parolee-shoots-boy-neck-guns

How many times do we have to hear some grieving person say, “This shouldn’t have happened” before the people responsible for it happening actually stop letting it happen?

On that subject, the Biden White House is standing by its stance to end cash bail, claiming that whether a suspect is released from jail should depend not on how much bail they can afford but how much of a threat they pose to society.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-end-cash-bail-waukesha-parade-attack

I might be willing to entertain that argument if any of these people could show me any evidence that they are at all capable of determining how much of a threat individual suspects pose. The Waukesha D.A. couldn’t even tell that the thug with a yard-long record of violent crimes who was just arrested for trying to run over his girlfriend shouldn’t be turned loose.

The International Olympic Committee has issued a new ruling that allows nations to send any athlete who claims to “identify” as female to compete in all women’s sports, effectively spelling the end of women’s Olympic sports.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/11/24/new-olympic-committee-rules-essentially-end-womens-sports/

This is the same policy that the Biden Administration is pushing on schools and destroying girls’ sports, and after he won office largely thanks to women’s votes. It’s one of many examples of how this Administration prioritizes LGBTQ++++ rights over women’s rights.

Do you know what else this Administration prioritizes over women’s rights? Placating China, which has launched a crackdown on the #MeToo movement and is targeting and silencing not just tennis star Peng Shuai but many other women who’ve dared to expose powerful men who sexually abused them.

https://whdh.com/news/its-not-just-peng-china-is-cracking-down-on-metoo-movement/

I think this cartoon sums it up chillingly well.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/487273/

Credit where it's due

November 24, 2021

Congratulations to President Biden for finally getting a couple of things right. Monday, he angered “progressives” such as Elizabeth Warren by renominating Trump appointee Jerome Powell to another term as Federal Reserve Chair. Lael Brainard, whom the leftists wanted in charge, was nominated for Vice Chair.

https://www.westernjournal.com/biden-sparks-anger-left-reappointing-trump-nominee-key-position/

In a statement, Biden said, “I’m confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before.”

Warren railed that Powell was a “dangerous” choice because he wouldn’t prioritize such burning issues as “climate mitigation.” Most financial analysts breathed a sigh of relief, however, since they’d rather see the Fed concentrate on reducing inflation and keeping the economy and the dollar healthy, rather than trying to change the weather.

The other move by Biden that suggests he caught a fleeting grip on reality was his decision to release 50 million gallons of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down gas prices, a move also being taken by other nations.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-strategic-petroleum-reserve-release-gas-price-spike

Don’t get me wrong: this is hardly a long-term solution. It’s only about a three-day supply for America. It won’t solve the problem of how to get a steady supply to fill our needs when the President and his Party are waging war on our domestic fuel industry. And as Joe Cunningham at Redstate.com suggests, they see this as just a mollifying stopgap while they force Americans to “transition” to unreliable and expensive green energy sources that can’t meet demand.

https://redstate.com/joesquire/2021/11/23/the-biden-administration-prepares-to-make-the-oil-crisis-worse-on-purpose-n480453

And former President Trump slammed the move because the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is supposed to be for national emergencies, not temporary relief from the bad consequences of your own stupid policies.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2021/11/23/trump-slams-biden-for-tapping-the-strategic-oil-reserve-n2599532

Many others agreed.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2021/11/23/biden-to-release-oil-from-strategic-reserve-n2599531

But at least Biden did show signs of understanding, even if only for a day, that there is a relationship between the supply of oil and gas and the price of oil and gas. It may be a small victory, but I’ll take miracles wherever I can find them these days.

Rules for a reason

November 24, 2021

A group of House Democrats, including (of course) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, penned a letter (news flash: they can write!) to Senate Democrats, demanding that they ignore the Senate Parliamentarian who ruled that a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants can’t be included in a budget reconciliation bill. Their “argument” is that the Parliamentarian’s role is only advisory, not binding, and that the citizenship change would have a “massive budgetary impact.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-dems-demand-senate-ignore-parliamentarian-and-use-infrastructure-bill-for-pathway-to-citizenship

Well, that’s one thing they got right! Except that with these people, everything they want to do has a massive budgetary impact.

For the record: budget reconciliation bills are allowed to pass on a simple majority vote not subject to filibuster, the idea being that something as important as keeping the government funded shouldn’t be held hostage to politics. However, Democrats have begun widely abusing this rule to shove through all sorts of unpopular, “transformative” legislation that could never garner 60% support in the Senate. That’s precisely why the Founders created the Senate: to prevent the “tyranny of the majority” and put the brakes on any unconstitutional power grabs that the hotheads in the House might send up.

AOC and other leftists find it terribly inconvenient that there are rules built into the system to prevent them from shoving their radical agenda down our throats with only the tiniest of majorities. Since taking power, they have dreamed up all sorts of rule changes to get around those roadblocks, from eliminating the filibuster to stacking the Supreme Court to suggesting a combined House/Senate majority vote. This is just their latest desperate gambit to seize more power. They’re trying to force as much America-transforming radicalism through as they can because they sense that after the next election, they’ll be such a tiny minority that they’ll be officing out of a broom closet.

I’m so old, I remember the hilarious claims by people like AOC that “Democratic socialists” were, like, TOTALLY different from old-style socialists! Those socialists abused power to force their will onto millions of people and steamrolled over anyone who got in their way. “Democratic socialists” are SO different! They have the word “Democratic” in their name.

Waukesha Parade Horror Update

November 24, 2021

Parade Horror Update: It was revealed that four of the six deaths caused by an SUV driver plowing into a Christmas parade were members of a group known as the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/waukesha-christmas-parade-tragedy-who-are-the-dancing-grannies

Other victims spanned a wide age range, and at least a dozen injured children were taken to hospitals, but so far, there have been no reports of children dying. I hope you will continue to pray for all the victims, both for full recoveries of the injured and for comfort for the families of those who were killed or injured.

https://victorygirlsblog.com/waukesha-parade-terror-sparks-vile-reactions/

As Deanna Fisher at the Victory Girls blog reports, there were a number of vile reactions on social media from people trying to score anti-Kyle Rittenhouse political points off of what so far appears to be a completely unrelated act allegedly committed by a known criminal. But as we’ve learned more about this outrage, a legitimate political issue has arisen, and it’s one the left would rather not talk about. Instapundit has a good round-up of the ways in which the media are trying to spin away what’s coming.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/487046/

The suspect, Darrell Edwards Brooks Jr., is a black man with both a long criminal record and a string of social media posts that paint him as an anti-white, anti-Semitic BLM supporter. Early reports that he was fleeing police or a knife fight appear to be incorrect, and video shows that his rampage went on for half a mile through eight intersections, so it was hardly an accident. All of which supports the police department’s conclusion that the killing spree was intentional. Wait, it gets worse.

I already told you that despite his violent criminal record and his facing two felony and three misdemeanor charges, he was released two days before the parade on just $1,000 bail. One of those charges was for domestic abuse for hospitalizing his girlfriend by allegedly running over her with his vehicle.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/kevindowneyjr/2021/11/22/breaking-waukesha-terrorist-ran-over-a-woman-earlier-in-november-and-was-released-on-a-1000-bond-n1535430

Since 1999, Brooks has been charged with crimes 10 times, many of them very serious.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2021/11/22/suspect-waukesha-parade-incident-identified-darrell-brooks-jr/8717524002/

The office of District Attorney John Chisholm said it’s launching an internal review to find out why such an inappropriately low bail was set. This sounds like a CYA effort. This is kind of like the Biden White House’s investigation into why gas prices are so high, or launching an investigation to find out why you got sick after kissing Typhoid Mary.

Chisholm was elected in 2007 and has reportedly received thousands of dollars of support from far-left billionaire George Soros, who has funded the elections of other leftist DA’s whose idea of “justice reform” is to decriminalize crime, open the jails, handcuff police, and let criminals prey on the community at will. If any of them are arrested, they're released immediately on little or no bail. The only people they seem to want to prosecute are law-abiding citizens who try to defend themselves. Chisholm has even taken credit for inspiring the San Francisco DA, who has presided over a crime wave that’s sent businesses and residents fleeing.

While the Waukesha parade massacre is shocking for the sheer brutality, mindlessness and body count, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s come to this. How many other innocent people have already been killed or injured because of Soros-funded leftist “prosecutors” who refuse to prosecute and jail criminals? This steady string of tragedies and injustices didn’t happen all at once on camera, so it’s been easy for the media to ignore them. But this single atrocity brings it home in a chilling way.

Maybe there should be a federal election law requiring that a “Soros-funded DA” warning label be placed on all campaign materials for these people, the same way we put a skull and crossbones on bottles of poison, and for the same reason.